The Life and Times of the Purple Avenger
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Post-series, my Pendulum Swings verse. Yugi and company are hoping to settle in for a peaceful Halloween in Domino City, but there's a mysterious vigilante around town and Tristan and Duke haven't resolved their latest problems. And now two parallel dimensions' futures are quite possibly at stake. What seemed a simple mystery is now anything but.
1. Chapter 1

**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**The Life and Times of the Purple Avenger**

**By Lucky_Ladybug**

**Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! This takes place in my post-series **_**Pendulum Swings**_** verse, which redeemed the Big Five and Yami Bakura. The augmented reality adventure the gang discusses in one scene is the story **_**Static Code Analysis**_**. The truth they learned about that adventure was told in **_**Mind Screw**_**. Neither story is ultimately important overall to the plot of this one.**

**Chapter One**

The convenience store robbers thought they'd gotten away home-free. It was late at night and no one was around. The cashier hadn't put up a fuss, instead giving over everything in the cash register with shaking hands while begging not to be harmed. Now, laughing to themselves, the bandits were running over to their car and preparing to get in.

They heard the rustle of heavy clothing only seconds before the figure in the long coat and wide-brimmed fedora dropped onto the roof of the car.

Both men screamed.

"It's the Purple Avenger!" one of them yelled.

"Maybe it's just an imposter," the second one objected, gripping the money bag for dear life. He didn't want to give it up, even for the notorious vigilante who had been afoot in Domino City lately.

The Purple Avenger reached out with a gloved hand, pulling the bag right out of the criminal's hands.

"Take it! Just take it!" the punk yelped. "Let us go!"

They both turned to flee, but a lariat swirled around them and pulled tight, sending them to the ground in a tangled mess. In the distance, police sirens were wailing loud and clear. The Purple Avenger looked towards the sound and leaped down from the getaway van. That was always his cue to leave.

By the time officers arrived, the criminals were soundly caught, the stolen money was in the doorway of the store, and the Purple Avenger was nowhere to be seen.

xxxx

"Can you believe this?!"

Joey was waving a newspaper at his friends as they walked to Bakura's house to pick him up for school. The others watched him with quirked eyebrows.

"I'm guessing that vigilante struck again last night?" Tristan said.

"That's right," Téa said. "I heard it on the news. He caught two convenience store robbers and left them for the police."

Joey nodded. "He's been goin' out ever since we got back from New Orleans this last time, but nobody knows who he is! The best picture anybody's got is that one of him standing on the office building."

"And since the photographer was standing on the sidewalk, that wasn't exactly a dream close-up," Tristan remarked.

"We get better info on the guy from the crooks he's caught," Joey said. "According to them, he wears a long purple coat and a matching fedora. And white gloves."

"But it's always so dark that nobody can see his face," Tristan added. "He's tall and muscular and athletic. And he always high-tails it out before the police show up."

"And he never says anything either," Yugi said. "I've heard about him too."

"Who hasn't by now?" Tristan said.

The conversation was cut short as they arrived in front of Bakura's house . . . and Joey promptly screamed at the sight of an entire graveyard, complete with zombies and ghouls rising from beneath several of the wooden markers.

The gravelly laughter startled all of them. Unseen at first due to the horror of the cemetery was Yami Bakura, casually leaning on a tall marker painted to look like granite.

Joey whimpered. "Y-you . . . you did this on purpose, knowing we'd be coming today!" he burst out in accusation with a pointed finger.

"You knew I've been fixing up the yard for some time now," Yami Bakura smirked in response. He straightened, pleased with the reaction. "Although I won't deny that I deliberately tried to finish it for this morning."

"You jerk!" Joey exclaimed.

"This is what Halloween is all about," Yami Bakura intoned.

"Scarin' people stiff?!" Joey shot back.

"That, and celebrating all that is macabre, grotesque, and demented," Yami Bakura said with a grin.

Joey growled. "Why, you-!"

"Oh dear, I'm late," Bakura fretted as he hurried out onto the porch. "I was hoping to warn you before you got here, Joey." He headed down the steps, briefcase clutched firmly in hand. "You know how much Yami loves Halloween."

Joey rolled his eyes. "For him, every day of the year is Halloween!"

"Hmm. How I wish," Yami Bakura smirked.

"Eh. That party you're throwin' had better not be as freaky as the front yard," Joey said to Bakura.

"Oh, not to worry," Bakura said. "It will be safe enough for those who are squeamish about Halloween . . . although there might be a little surprise or two," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

Joey stared at him. "It's them little surprises I'm worried about," he frowned.

Bakura chuckled. "Goodbye, Yami," he called with a wave. "Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone!"

"Hmm. We'll see how much is possible," Yami Bakura smirked in reply.

"Why do I get the feeling he's not entirely kidding?" Tristan sighed, throwing his hands in the air.

Yugi, Téa, and Bakura all looked amused. But that quickly faded as they continued to walk and the conversation faded into an uncomfortable silence. Duke didn't usually come with them, instead preferring to drive, but sometimes he and Tristan had ridden in together. That certainly hadn't happened since their last trip to New Orleans. After another argument over Serenity choosing Duke, the two boys remained on rocky terms with each other. Any time they were in the same spot, the tension was so thick it could almost be cut with a knife. As much as everyone else wanted them to patch things up, it still hadn't happened.

"So," Bakura finally spoke, wanting to dispel the gloom, "I hear that the Purple Avenger struck again last night."

"Yeah!" Joey pounced. "We're all wondering who the guy is. And why'd he show up now, anyway? I mean, why now as opposed to any other time? And why in Domino? I mean, sure we've got crooks, but overall I think the crime rate is lower here than some other places."

"Unless you want to count all the nutcases who get drawn here targeting us," Tristan said flatly.

"It is kind of strange, though," Téa said. "Definitely a mystery. But I don't have time to think about it. After school I have to get down to the mall."

"Oh right. You're workin' for that Thorton guy at his holiday shop again," Joey said. "Serenity wants to give it another try too. She said she got some great money for Christmas presents last year."

"It was fun working with Serenity," Téa smiled. "I hope we really can do it again this year."

Tristan's expression darkened. Yugi cringed. Even mentioning Serenity by herself without Duke could cause this.

Bakura looked out at the autumn morning and the colored leaves twirling down from the trees. "It's strange to think it's been a whole year since the Big Five were restored to their bodies," he said.

"There's never a dull moment," Téa said. "And to think . . . we're finally all remembering that they weren't even responsible for the worst things that happened when Kaiba debuted his augmented reality game and they took it over. . . ."

"Actually, they weren't responsible for any of it, since they were under Yami Marik's spell," Yugi said. "Okay, in their right minds they might have tried to take it over anyway to get physical forms, but even as awful as they got in Noa's world, they still didn't want to kill us. And Yami Marik tried to poison them so they would. . . ." He shuddered.

"But they couldn't," Bakura said. "Johnson didn't go through with the proposed plans for me, and poor Nesbitt about that warehouse. . . ."

"That was really low," Joey snarled. "Yami Marik comin' in and settin' fire to it because Nesbitt couldn't do it, and then makin' all of us 'remember' that Nesbitt did do it! . . ."

"It was unbelievably cruel," Bakura agreed, an edge slipping into his voice.

"I hope they're all doing okay," Téa said.

"I think they're pretty busy with Penguin World," Yugi smiled. "The buildings are going up and Nesbitt is having the mini-sub for the pond built. They're hoping it might all be ready sometime this winter."

"That'll be a fun place to visit," Téa said. "Serenity's excited to see the penguins."

"Are _you_ okay with it, Téa?" Joey looked to her in some surprise. "I mean, after what happened in Noa's world with Crump and all that."

Téa sighed. "Well, the Crump who tried to freeze me sure isn't the same Crump who's our friend. Yeah, I've tried to put all that behind me. I'm genuinely looking forward to how Penguin World turns out."

"I think we all are," Yugi smiled. "I'm really happy we're all friends now. I just hope things will stay peaceful for a while."

"Do you really think they will?" Tristan retorted. "Especially with that Purple Avenger running around?"

"Well . . ." Yugi shrugged. "He _is_ doing good, even if it's not strictly legal. Actually, I guess you could really say we're all vigilantes in some ways."

"True," Joey said. "All the times we've had to save the world from crazy nuts. . . ."

"And all the times we'll probably still have to," Tristan sighed.

No one could disagree. It didn't seem like something that would stop any time soon.

xxxx

"Rock Paper Scissors . . . shoot!"

Duke facepalmed as he walked past Lumis and Umbra standing in the middle of a new shipment of Dungeon Dice Monsters figurines and mostly bare shelves. Actually, they had proved to be good workers at the store, but they couldn't seem to get that urge to play their signature game out of their systems. Duke had scolded them for it and it hadn't worked, so now he was attempting to just ignore it.

"I'm going to be late for school," he said over his shoulder. "Just _try_ to have everything on the shelves by the time I get back, alright?"

They looked up.

"Not to worry, Mr. Devlin," Lumis said. "Everything will be done before noon."

"Heh. We'll see. David will be here to make sure you stay in line." Duke hurried outside before they could protest and jumped over the closed door into his turquoise convertible. It was probably about time to put the top on, but he enjoyed the freedom of the wind blowing his hair about, so he kept leaving it down despite the increasingly bitter temperatures.

His eyes narrowed as he drove. He had heard about the Purple Avenger's exploits as well, but it didn't really concern him and he had bigger things on his mind than a local vigilante. The more time went by with the rift between him and Tristan still standing, the more he felt like attempting to reach out as Serenity had suggested and hoped he might do. He still didn't feel that he was at fault, but he didn't like continuing to be so on the rocks with a friend.

He also doubted that Tristan even wanted to make up, though. He certainly could have made a move to do so himself, but he hadn't.

Duke sighed. Well, he didn't like to say it, but maybe if there was another disaster and they had to team up to save the world, that would be the catalyst for getting them to solve their problems.

On the other hand, it could drive them further apart instead.

He gripped the steering wheel. After school, Serenity wanted to come over to the store and discuss how it could be decorated for Halloween. He didn't doubt she genuinely wanted to, as she loved decorating and he allowed her to help with preparing the store for the holidays, but he imagined she was also hoping to talk more about the problem with Tristan.

He didn't want to disappoint her. Maybe he could try to find a time at school to talk with Tristan and just hope it would go well.

He had to admit, however, that he still seriously doubted it.

xxxx

Lector really didn't remember falling asleep. But he must have slept quite well, as he found himself rousing up laying on his side in bed and half-hugging the pillow. He blinked sleepily as he pushed himself up. For a while last year he'd had such drastic insomnia and nightmares, and sometimes he still did, but for the most part he seemed to sleep better lately. That was certainly a relief, although another part of him couldn't help wondering why he kept waking up with weary and exhausted muscles.

He sank back into the bed. Maybe he would just stay a few more minutes. . . .

The door flew open and Nesbitt was standing there, a copy of the morning paper in hand. "Did you see this?!" he exclaimed.

"Now how could I see it, Nesbitt?" Lector drawled. "I've been trying to sleep."

"They're talking about this Purple Avenger vigilante again," Nesbitt went on, half-ignoring Lector's statement. "The crooks described him a little more this time. It sounds like he's running around town dressed like you in that trenchcoat and hat you love. If you're not careful, someone might think you're him!"

"I don't particularly care if they do," Lector mumbled.

Nesbitt exhaled in exasperation. "I know you haven't seemed too interested in any of this, but the last thing I want is for you to get accused of something you didn't do. You and Gansley are always quick to remind me that we're trying to live within the law, and last I checked, vigilantism is hardly doing that."

"I'm still not going to stop wearing my coat and hat because of it," Lector said. "That character is a fool. Although I have to applaud his foolishness to a certain extent." He let his eyes close. "I really need to sleep, Nesbitt. . . ."

"Fine." Nesbitt left the paper on the nightstand and headed back to the door. "Just have a look at it when you wake up for real."

"When I wake up for real, I probably won't remember this conversation," Lector pointed out.

Shaking his head, Nesbitt stepped into the hall and pulled the door shut after him. "He's not ready to get up yet," he told the others.

Gansley sighed. "We've all had our share of nightmares over the past year, but I'd thought that Lector was doing better."

"He was," Crump said. "I thought he'd got pretty good sleep last night, even."

"You don't think . . ." Johnson looked down the stairs to where Lector kept his trenchcoat and fedora hat on the coat tree near the front door.

"That Lector really is the Purple Avenger?" Crump snorted. "Come on!"

"Why would he do that?" Nesbitt frowned. "Vigilantes are reckless and wild. It's more like something I'd do. But it's not me!" he quickly added.

"It doesn't seem like something Lector would do," Gansley agreed. "And yet . . . in another time and place, perhaps he would have. He likes justice, after all."

"Well, I like food," Crump declared. "Let's go get breakfast ready. Maybe some stacks of pancakes and eggs and bacon will wake Lector up."

That sounded like a perfectly reasonable idea even without trying to wake Lector up with the smell of tantalizing food, so the four of them trouped down to the kitchen. They were staying in Lector's house at the moment, but they all treated each other's houses like their own. Lector certainly didn't mind if they cooked in his kitchen.

"So do you really think we're on schedule with Penguin World?" Crump chirped as he dug in the fridge for eggs.

"We should be," Johnson said. He settled at the table.

"As long as there aren't any hiccups, the miniature submarine should be ready for testing before the end of the month," Nesbitt said.

"That's great!" Crump beamed.

Gansley thought so too. "And the building for the first batch of penguins should be ready within a month or so. Will the penguins be ready to ship?"

"The lady I talked to said so," Crump said. "She said they're all really unique characters, including one named George that likes to walk around offices."

"Great," Nesbitt grunted. Somehow he had the feeling he would be seeing a lot of George.

"It will be," Crump insisted. "All of us going into business together is gonna be perfect! It's been so liberating figuring out everything about Penguin World and knowing we've got the final say."

Gansley smiled a bit. "Being your own boss is certainly the best experience," he agreed.

Crump glanced over at him. "Why did you agree to join KaibaCorp anyway?" he wondered. "You'd been running your own businesses all your life! Why switch it up and work for someone else?"

"KaibaCorp was one of the most prestigious companies in the world," Gansley replied. "I couldn't see myself turning down such a profitable opportunity as joining their board of directors. Or at least, that was the reason I gave everyone, including myself. It was only partially true; the rest of it was that I felt I _couldn't_ turn down the opportunity, that for some reason I'd be making the biggest mistake of my life if I did. It was the strangest, most bizarre feeling I'd ever had. I knew it didn't have anything to do with business or making money, but I didn't know what it did have to do with."

"And it was because you and Johnson had to meet us, right?" Crump exclaimed.

"Heh. It would seem so." Gansley smiled a bit.

"Do you ever regret selling your businesses?" Nesbitt wondered. "After all the trouble you had because of KaibaCorp . . ."

"It was worth it to meet all of you," Gansley said. "No, I don't regret it."

It was what Nesbitt had thought and hoped he would hear, but it was still nice to hear it. He relaxed in the chair.

xxxx

Upstairs, Lector started to come out of another doze. This time he was more wide awake, but unlike his prediction, he did indeed remember his conversation with Nesbitt.

He sat up, reaching for the newspaper his friend had left. His eyes traveled over the story as he frowned and raised an eyebrow. Nesbitt was right that he hadn't been too interested in this vigilante nonsense. There were too many things going on in his own life to worry about without paying attention to this. Still, the way the man was described _was_ eerie, he had to admit that. Apparently someone else was running around town in the same kind of coat and hat he liked. It wasn't too far-fetched to think that someone might think he was this Purple Avenger.

That was ridiculous, though. He would certainly know if he was traipsing around Domino City like Batman. He wasn't.

Throwing the covers back, he got out of bed and took the paper with him to the door. It was time to get some of that breakfast he was smelling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Yami Bakura was still admiring his handiwork in the front yard. He wouldn't mind doing a little more and making it even more eerie, as it was hard for him to ever find the macabre side of Halloween overdone. But he wanted to get it just right.

He was quite picky about what he chose to include among the lawn decorations. Most that he could afford was either too cutesy, too corny, or otherwise not eerie enough for him, so he designed almost everything himself. He did like a very quirky decoration he had seen at Walmart of two skeletons carrying a coffin, so maybe while Bakura was in school he would go looking for that. It would look perfect near the walkway up to the porch. And of course, Joey would be horrified by it. He couldn't deny he enjoyed teasing Joey and playing on his fear of the supernatural. It was hard for a mischief-maker not to revel in that golden opportunity. He might not be bent on plunging the world into shadows without Zorc's influence, but he wasn't an angel.

It wasn't long and he was in the van, driving to the nearest Walmart. With the city's sheer size, they had more than one. He soon pulled into the parking lot and headed inside.

He didn't often run into people he knew in stores, but as he was making a beeline for the Halloween department a girl in a Domino High uniform suddenly cut in front of him. "Oh, you're Ryou Bakura's Egyptian cousin, aren't you?" she said in her irritating Valley Girl accent.

"Yes," Yami Bakura grunted. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"I'm like, cutting today," she smirked with a flip of her hair. "Will you give Bakura a message for me?"

"Probably not," Yami Bakura retorted.

She stepped closer, reaching out to play with the edges of his open red hoodie. "I think he's really cute. Of course, I think you're really cute too." She leaned in seductively. "I bet you're the Purple Avenger everyone's talking about."

Yami Bakura grabbed her wrists, moving her away in disgust. "Purple isn't one of my colors. Anyway, I have better things to do than run around catching petty thieves. Such as what you're preventing me from doing right now."

Undaunted, she grabbed for him again and touched his exposed chest. "Oh? Like, what?"

He spun around, his eyes filled with danger. "Like figuring out a way to give airheads like you some intelligence," he said darkly. The Infinity Ring glowed. As it faded, the girl was left standing and blinking in bewilderment, her memories of the last couple of minutes erased.

Yami Bakura muttered to himself as he stalked off towards the Halloween aisles. He was grateful that he wasn't bound to not use magic unless the whole world was in danger. Although he had restrictions of his own; the Infinity Items could never be used for evil. But using the Ring on a girl who didn't know the meaning of personal space wasn't evil, as far as he was concerned. This wasn't the first time he had needed to make use of that power for that reason, either.

It didn't take him long to find the decoration item he wanted. He grabbed it off the shelf and was just stepping out of the aisle when a man in a purple coat swept past him, forcing him to move back.

He frowned after the stranger. It wasn't Seto Kaiba or Démas Lector. Purple coats were really becoming quite common in town. Maybe that person was even the Purple Avenger. Would he really be stupid enough to wear his crime-fighting attire out in public, though?

Yami Bakura snorted and shook his head. Not that it mattered anyway.

xxxx

School was long and busy. Duke found, somewhat to his relief, that he really didn't have much time to corner Tristan. But then when classes were over, he somehow found himself shoved and pushed by students eager to leave to walk right into Tristan's path by accident. Both boys went stiff.

Tristan was the first to come out of his trance. "Sorry about that," he said, speaking as stiffly as he had been standing a moment before.

Duke snapped to. "Tristan. . . ." He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened in New Orleans. I know Serenity choosing me has always been a sore spot with you, but I never wanted it to destroy whatever friendship we had."

"We didn't have any," Tristan retorted. "You were only ever interested in Serenity. You didn't care about me or that I was there first!"

Some of the students were slowing down and turning to look. They wanted to go home, but they were always up for juicy gossip. This looked promising.

Duke inwardly cursed his foolishness for thinking this might actually work. He had really known it wouldn't. "Sure you got on my nerves," he admitted, "but that doesn't mean I never cared about you!"

"Friends don't steal other friends' girls," Tristan snapped.

"She wasn't your girl!" Duke cried. "She never saw you that way! I wouldn't have interfered if she had!"

"Oh, like I'll believe that," Tristan snorted.

"And it was her choice to pick me!" Duke continued. "I left it completely up to her!" Somewhere inside him he knew he was yelling again, but at the moment he didn't care. The dirty laundry was already out.

"I'll never forgive you for tempting her," Tristan spat.

Duke rocked back. "Are you serious? You can forgive the Big Five or Yami Bakura for everything they did, but not me?!"

"Stealing someone's girl is a special case," Tristan growled.

"Tristan?! Duke?!"

They looked up. Téa was pushing her way through the goggle-eyed student body, and she did not look pleased.

"Come on, break it up, you two!" she exclaimed. "This is ridiculous!"

"Plus, you're really giving everyone a show," Yugi said in concern as he scrambled to catch up with Téa. "Maybe you don't care now, but I'm betting you will later."

Neither Tristan nor Duke would meet their friends' eyes.

"I was trying to patch things up," Duke said in disgust. "I should have stuck with my better judgment. Excuse me." He pushed past the group as he stormed towards the front doors.

Téa stared helplessly after him. "Duke . . ."

"Good riddance," Tristan muttered.

Yugi looked up at him. "Come on, Tristan. . . . You can't really mean that. . . ."

"Yeah," Joey said, suddenly coming up from behind Tristan. "You know how upset you were when we all thought Duke was dead!"

"And then we found out he was still in our midst and he'd been tricking almost all of us all that time," Tristan spat. "He pretended to be some guy he'd met in Japan!"

"You know he had to do that to find out who wanted him dead," Téa objected. "It completely shredded his heart to have to hurt us worse!"

"Well, you're sure sticking up for him," Tristan sneered. "Maybe Serenity isn't enough for him and now he wants you too, and you're obliging him!"

Téa just stared at him, stunned. "Duke's not like that and neither am I, and you'd better know that, Tristan!"

Now Yugi was actually angry. His eyes flashed. "You know that's uncalled-for, Tristan!"

Tristan did. Sickened horror came into his eyes and he turned away. "I'm sorry, guys. I don't know what came over me. I've just been so out of sorts lately."

"Tristan . . ." Téa gazed helplessly at their friend. "If you could just calm down about Duke. . . ."

"I really don't know if I ever will," Tristan said harshly. "I'll see you all later." He headed for a different door than the one Duke had taken.

Joey's shoulders slumped. "Oh boy."

"I don't know what we're going to do with either one of them," Téa said sorrowfully. "We can't leave things like this, and yet we can't force them to get along again. . . ."

"Maybe they just need a little time apart," Yugi said. "It can't be easy seeing each other at school every day. . . ."

"I hope Duke won't decide to leave the city," Téa worried. "Well, I guess Tristan might too, but we know Duke's done it before."

"I don't think he'd do that now," Yugi said. "There's too much he wants to stay here for." He sighed. "But I really do wish we knew what to do. . . ."

Joey and Téa could only nod helplessly as the three of them headed for the door.

xxxx

Duke climbed into his convertible, fumbling with the keys before sticking the right one in the ignition. He didn't want to stay here one minute more, even though he also didn't feel like driving right now. If he loitered at all, a lot of the students would start gathering around and plying him with questions. He didn't want that.

Even as he turned the key, a hand landed on the passenger side door. "Duke? May I talk with you for a moment?"

Duke looked up with a jerk. Bakura was standing there, kind and concerned. It wasn't what Duke had expected, but he wasn't about to turn down a conversation with a friend. "Sure," he said. "I'll drive you home and we'll talk on the way. Alright? I really don't want to stick around here."

Bakura nodded and smiled. "That's fine." He opened the door and got in on the passenger side. Duke quickly pulled out of the parking lot.

"I saw almost everyone watching the confrontation between me and Tristan, but I didn't see you there, Bakura," Duke commented when they were away from the school.

"Oh. . . . Well, I didn't like to stick around for something like that," Bakura said. "I know it must have been terribly awkward for both of you as it was."

"It wasn't a picnic," Duke grunted.

Bakura sighed. "It's never pleasant to argue with friends. I wonder, though, and I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but . . . have you ever tried to see the situation from Tristan's side of it?"

Duke frowned. "I know he was interested in Serenity and he hoped she would want to get romantically involved with him. But she didn't see him that way."

Bakura nodded. "And then someone he had only briefly met before, and under trying circumstances, appeared on the scene and promptly became interested in Serenity as well."

Now Duke sighed. "I get what you're saying. You think maybe I shouldn't have tried so hard to get Serenity interested in me? I didn't think there was any harm in it when she clearly saw Tristan as a brother. Anyway, Serenity didn't get interested when I was deliberately trying to get her interested. It only happened a lot later, after she'd spent time with each of us and we'd given her space to think."

"Yes, I know." Bakura started to nervously trace a pattern on his briefcase. "I suppose more what I'm wondering is if you should apologize to Tristan for trying to get Serenity interested in you. . . ."

"It's hard to do that if you don't feel like you did something wrong," Duke said. "But when Serenity chose me, I did try to tell Tristan something. And I said I hoped we could still be friends. For a while it seemed like we could, but now I don't know. I knew trying to apologize to him would feel like I was patronizing him, and that's definitely the way he took it when I gave up and tried today."

"I'm sorry," Bakura said softly.

"I don't see how anything's going to get done if we can't talk things out calmly," Duke said. "I tried, Tristan immediately blew up at me, and . . . yeah, I have a hard time holding my temper after some of that." He pulled up in front of Bakura's house. "I know with your personality, Bakura, you sometimes feel like you need to apologize for every little thing. But sometimes, apologies don't work. I think the only thing that would make Tristan happy would be if I gave up Serenity. And that's hardly something I'm going to do, especially when she wants to be with me."

"I suppose you're right," Bakura relented. ". . . Oh dear." He stared at the front lawn, where Yami Bakura was apparently in the process of assembling what looked like two skeletons carrying a coffin between them.

Duke followed his gaze and had to snark. "Well, Joey's going to cry when he sees that."

Bakura chuckled uneasily. "I rather hate to think what Father will do."

"Heh. Well, good luck," Duke said. "And . . . thanks for talking with me."

Bakura started to get out of the car. "I just wish I knew of something to say that would really help," he lamented.

"I'll think about what you said," Duke said. "See you later, Bakura."

"Goodbye." Bakura smiled at him before hurrying up the walkway.

xxxx

The Big Five had mostly spent the day relaxing and making more plans for Penguin World. In the early afternoon they had driven out to watch the construction at the site for a while and make sure everything was going as it should be. Now they were back at Lector's house, mostly just enjoying the relative peace and each other's company.

It surprised all of them when the doorbell rang. But it floored them when Lector's maid Helena went to answer it and came back with a gloomy Tristan in tow. He looked around at the group and focused on Nesbitt. "Can I talk to you?" he blurted.

Nesbitt just stared at him. "You want to talk to _me?_" he said in disbelief.

Tristan nodded. "Yeah." He looked away, scowling at the carpet. "I've been making a colossal mess of everything, and I . . ." He shifted, suddenly not sure how to finish the sentence without making another mess.

". . . You want to talk to someone who knows a lot about causing colossal messes," Nesbitt flatly finished.

Tristan looked up with a jerk. "Someone who also blurts out stuff he shouldn't," he corrected.

"Why not just talk to Joseph?" Johnson asked.

Tristan flushed. "It's too complicated and sticky. And Joey's too close to the situation. I wanted someone who might be more objective."

Nesbitt let out his breath in exasperation. "Alright. I doubt I can really give you any advice, though. I can't even control myself most of the time. How am I going to tell you how you can?"

"I don't know." Tristan shifted. "I just hoped. . . ."

"We can go out of the room if you want a private conversation," Gansley suggested. He reached for his cane.

". . . I'd rather you stay," Nesbitt said. "You might be able to provide input I can't."

Lector nodded. "Alright."

Still awkward, Nesbitt shifted on the couch as he studied Tristan. "You know, I thought you _did_ know how to control yourself and that you generally had to rein Joey in."

"Yeah, usually," Tristan said. "But there's some things that I just can't stay calm about either. Most of you heard me blowing up at Duke about Serenity in New Orleans. . . ."

"We heard," Gansley nodded. "And you're still having trouble about that now?"

"Yeah." Tristan looked away. "I was able to keep control of myself for a long time, but somehow . . . now I just broke and I can't fix it up again. Every time I think about it I get ticked off. When Duke tried to apologize to me for our friendship getting messed up, I just got madder than ever and started the whole argument again, this time so the entire student body could hear!"

"It sounds to me as though you've been bottling things up for far too long and it finally just all spilled out," Gansley said. "It can be very difficult to rein yourself in again after allowing yourself to snap."

"So I've discovered," Tristan frowned. "But so what can I do?! I don't want things to just stay like this! But it could have got fixed today and I wouldn't let it."

"Those feelings have to run their course," Gansley said.

"It's nothing new, though," Tristan objected. "I mean, Duke's known for ages how I've felt. It's not like I'm suddenly exploding with something I've never said before."

"You need to get over the girl," Nesbitt grunted. "She made her decision and you have to accept that."

"But she's too young to go steady!" Tristan retorted. "So I guess . . . I just keep hoping she'll change her mind later. . . ." He looked down. "And how would you know about getting over girls anyway? You don't even know what it's like to be in love!"

Nesbitt quirked an eyebrow. "No, I don't, but how do you know I don't? I don't broadcast it."

"I can tell," Tristan insisted.

"Not to mention, even if he doesn't know about romantic feelings, hopeless or otherwise, who better than us to know about the need to let go of harmful feelings in general?" Gansley grunted. "Nesbitt is right, boy. Pining after Serenity is only hurting you and the people around you. And deep down, you know that."

"Even if I know it, I don't know how to make those feelings stop," Tristan said. "I can't just turn them off! For a long time I only knew about Serenity from stuff Joey said and from the picture he always carries in his wallet. I wanted to know her in person! I wanted it with all my heart. And then I finally had the chance to meet her and she was even more incredible than I'd thought!" He clenched a fist. "But Duke had to come into the picture and ruin it."

"You're skipping over the part that she didn't see you as a romantic interest," Nesbitt grunted. "And honestly, she would have met Duke sooner or later. Since she made the decision to go to him, that probably would have happened regardless."

"None of us know that!" Tristan boomed. He started to get up. "You guys are no help."

Nesbitt got up with him. "We don't know precisely how you're feeling, it's true. But no one can know exactly, because each person hurts a little differently. That's something I've been learning lately. Even if say, I think Lector is doing perfectly alright because he seems alright, for all I know he could be broken inside. And I see in you a lot of the same reactions and feelings that plague me. I wish to God I could rewind time and change the past on so many occasions, to erase every terrible thing I've said and done, but I can't! I have to live with what I did. I finally know now I didn't try to kill people in that warehouse fire, but I've done plenty of other rotten things, and you know that better than most people. It's not easy to live with things you're not happy with. But there's nothing else to do! Serenity made her choice and you have to choose whether you're going to let that choice spoil your friendship with Duke or not." He folded his arms. "What matters more to you? I decided that no matter how unhappy I am with myself, being with my friends mattered more to me than wallowing in it or hopelessly wishing I was an android so I wouldn't hurt them."

Tristan stood staring at his former enemy, gritting his teeth as his eyes narrowed. ". . . You know," he said at last, "I think what upsets me more than almost anything else is that there _was_ a way to rewind time and fix the past, but I never had the chance to use it. Duke did. He always gets everything and I'm left with nothing! I never even thought about that, really, until that ghost brought it up in New Orleans."

Now Lector got up too. "As I recall, it took a hefty price to use that time-rewinding amethyst. Mr. Devlin used it to restore a life lost that shouldn't have been. Are you sayin' that you would be willing to pay a hard price to rewind time so that you could try to ensure that Miss Wheeler chose you?!"

Tristan stared at him. ". . . Oh, I don't know what I'm saying." His shoulders dropped and he stared at the floor. "That would be pretty selfish, wouldn't it. Reviving David was a worthy thing to do. Manipulating people's fates to make myself happy instead of them sounds pretty crummy when you put it into perspective."

"And I certainly hope you're not really calling your friendships 'nothing,'" Lector continued, an edge slipping into his voice. "You have a treasure right now. A lot of people take their loved ones for granted. Just because you're not romantically involved with Miss Wheeler doesn't mean you don't have a great deal to be thankful for. I've never understood those people who think the world is ending if they don't have a romantic partner! That isn't what life is all about!"

"Well, neither is running a big business," Tristan blurted before he felt like stopping himself.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Gansley exclaimed. He started to push himself to his feet. "Tristan, you need to deal with these feelings. Crump would probably say you should talk them out and never let them build up."

"Yeah, I would!" Crump said.

"And he's probably right," Johnson said. "But did you ever consider professional help?"

Tristan stared at him, deeply insulted. "Like a shrink?!"

"More like a school counselor," Johnson said.

". . . No, I didn't consider that," Tristan frowned. "And maybe it's not a bad idea, but I don't want anyone at school to know I'm doing that! It would get around."

"Then if you truly want our help, listen to us!" Gansley snapped.

"Or maybe we should listen to him," Crump said. "I mean, if he's gotta get all this stuff out, maybe once it's out he'll calm down."

Everyone pondered on that.

"Just let him rant?" Nesbitt looked doubtful. "Not even say what we think?"

"Exactly," Crump said. "A lot of this stuff he probably doesn't really even mean; he just needs to say it, to get it out there, and not havta worry about offending anybody or arguing with anybody because of it."

"He asked for our help," Nesbitt pointed out. "He could just rant at a brick wall if that was all he wanted."

"I'm right here," Tristan scowled. "But no, you're right. I actually do want to hear what you guys think. That's why I don't want to rant at a brick wall."

"But if you're hoping for validation, we can't give you that," Gansley said.

"I realize that," Tristan said. He sighed. "You can see how stressed out I am. I'm a bunch of nerves! I even said something nasty to Téa. That was when I knew I needed help." He looked at them with pleading eyes. "Tell me this. You talk about getting over your feelings, but you don't really say how. How did you do it?"

"A lot of it really is figuring out what's more important to you, like I said," Nesbitt said. "If it's your friendships, then you have to work on them and not focus on what you don't have."

Gansley nodded. "Our friendships meant more to us than our revenge or our hate, and we finally realized that."

"I think what you really need is to have a talk with Mr. Devlin," Lector said. "A real talk, not just more screaming at each other. Each of you needs to say how you feel and what you want to do about it."

"And perhaps you need someone to moderate your discussion so it won't turn into another argument," Gansley said.

"Yeah," Tristan mused. "That's probably a good idea." He hesitated. "Would . . . would one of you guys do it? Please?"

The Big Five exchanged looks with each other.

"Very well," Gansley sighed. "I'll do it. I've had a lot of practice moderating Lector and Nesbitt."

Nesbitt went red. Lector looked embarrassed himself.

Tristan bowed. "Thank you," he said sincerely. ". . . Oh. Duke might not agree to talk to me. . . . Especially after today. . . ."

"I'm sure he's hurting just as much as you are, Mr. Taylor," Lector said. "If you go to him and sincerely ask, I am certain he will say Yes. I have never turned down a sincere request to talk."

"Okay." Tristan took a deep breath. "I'll try. Thank you all again." He hurried to the door and slipped outside.

". . . Well, that was different," Johnson remarked after a long silence. "By the way, when was this argument they had in New Orleans? I don't remember any- . . . oh." He adjusted his glasses. "It's when you all thought I was dead, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Gansley said quietly.

Lector didn't want to talk about that. He started to get up. "It's getting late. Maybe we should start thinking about dinner."

"Yeah," Crump pounced. "Let's go find your kitchen staff and tell them. Or heck, we can make it ourselves. Give us something to do."

Lector smiled a bit. "Alright," he agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes: Fuguta is the brown-haired guy who is often seen with Roland. The dub didn't name him, for some reason (except for Mokuba mistakenly calling him Roland!), so I decided to just call him by his Japanese name. This chapter heavily references **_**Lead Me Through the Fire**_** and **_**Close Your Eyes, Clear Your Heart**_** in Duke's scene.**

**Chapter Three**

Crump had really used the idea of fixing food as an excuse. He went out ahead and pulled Lector with him, much to Lector's surprise.

"What is this?" Lector frowned.

"I just wondered how you were doing," Crump said. "I noticed how you avoided talking about what happened in New Orleans."

"I didn't see any point in talking about that," Lector said. ". . . Unless any of the rest of you wanted to, that is."

"I know we were all real shook about it," Crump said. "When we realized it was a trick of that crazy ghost's, I guess we mostly just settled down. You and Nesbitt went running off to stop Darcy and Caroline Mason and the rest of us sat around worrying. Or sleeping, in Johnson's case."

Lector looked away. "If you wanted to talk about it, you didn't really bring it up when we got back."

"I dunno if I wanted to or not," Crump said. "I guess right then, I was just glad you were both back safe and I wanted to focus on that."

Lector sighed. "I'm sorry we worried you. They had to be stopped."

"I know. But it was bad enough thinking we'd lost Johnson. Then we had to go right into worrying about you guys." Crump sighed too. "And I keep having to practically twist you guys' arms to get you to open up when you're upset!"

"In this case, you quite literally twisted my arm," Lector pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess so," Crump chuckled. He sobered again as he studied his friend. "You used to want to talk about things and you were upset if it seemed like we didn't. Do you remember that?"

"Yes," Lector said. "I suppose back then, I didn't think horrible things would keep happening to us." He looked away.

"That makes a difference?" Crump frowned.

"The more things happen, the more I don't know how to deal with them and the more I try bottling up how I'm feeling," Lector said.

"Yeah, that's probably pretty accurate," Crump sighed. "But Buddy, you've already snapped once. Shouldn't that make you more willing to open up and not less?"

". . . It's still hard for me to be the one to say something," Lector said. "You can usually convince me to talk sooner or later if you approach me."

"I'd better do it more often then," Crump said. "You and Nesbitt have in common that you don't know how to deal with your feelings, even though the ways you guys deal with how you don't know are completely opposite from each other."

"I never thought about that before, but you're right," Lector admitted.

"I sure am," Crump said.

Lector frowned. "You know, you're always trying to get us to open up, but we don't really encourage you to do the same thing. What do you do when you're upset, Crump?"

"Oh . . . I usually try to get you guys to open up," Crump said. "But I'll also do that if I think you need to open up and you aren't," he rushed on.

"I see," Lector said. "Are you upset right now?"

"Nah. Just worried about you," Crump said.

"I'm alright," Lector insisted. "I'm even sleeping better lately."

"Yeah, I noticed you haven't been having insomnia," Crump said. "No nightmares either?"

"No nightmares," Lector said. "Actually, that's strange. But I don't want to question it too much. I just want to be grateful." He glanced behind him. "And shouldn't the others have caught up by now?"

"I guess they hung back on purpose so we could talk," Crump said.

"Hmm." Lector allowed a slight amused smirk. "Does that mean they're all worried about me too?"

"Or they saw I was," Crump said. "But of course we're all always worried about each other, aren't we?"

"Yes," Lector conceded.

Johnson suddenly appeared with Gansley and Nesbitt. "And actually, Lector, we've been thinking how strange it is that this new vigilante in town dresses like you."

"I know it's odd," Lector said. "But you surely don't think he really is me?"

"No," Gansley said. "Although I wonder if he could be trying to implicate you."

"With all of the people who target us, I can't even scoff and say that's ridiculous," Lector sighed. "But if you really believe someone might be trying to involve me, maybe we need to try to catch this man and prove who he is."

"He doesn't even strike every night, though," Nesbitt said. "There's no set pattern to go on!"

"Then let's not worry about it right now," Lector said wearily. "Let's just eat."

No one protested.

xxxx

Duke was discouraged and weary by the time he parked back at the Black Crown and trudged inside. He unzipped the jacket of his school uniform, flipping his hair away from his face as he shrugged out of it.

"Mr. Devlin?"

He looked up at the sound of Umbra's voice. "Yeah, what is it?"

"We finished stocking the shelves. . . ."

Duke glanced up. "That's good. Good work." He headed for the stairs up to the second floor and his office.

"Are you alright?" Lumis asked.

"Fine," Duke said over his shoulder.

"Oh, if you're looking for Mr. Tanaka, he had to step out to see one of our suppliers," Lumis informed him.

Duke froze. "Oh." He had forgotten about that appointment. Sighing, he just stopped and sat down on the steps in defeat. After a moment he looked up. "Hey . . . you two . . . tell me. Have you ever got into an argument so bad you thought that was it? No more friendship?"

The ex-Rare Hunters exchanged a bewildered look and came over to the stairs. "We've had some pretty bad ones," Lumis admitted.

"Especially when we were first getting to know each other," Umbra added.

"What about after you got to know each other?" Duke countered.

". . . The worst one then was during Battle City," Lumis said. He looked away, not really wanting to tell details. But even though he and Umbra had planned to have parachutes in case they lost, Lumis had still felt utter terror when Umbra had fallen. For those horrible seconds as he had helplessly watched, he had feared the parachute not opening . . . Umbra dying . . . and had been filled with the sickened remembrance that some of the last things they had said to each other had been harsh and angry and distrusting.

Umbra didn't really want to talk about it either. But when he had found Lumis in a coma after the duel and he hadn't woke up, Umbra had been stricken with guilt that he had been the one who had started the argument between them during the duel. He had known how sensitive Lumis was, yet he had let his frustrations get the better of him anyway.

Duke looked up at them, seeing their discomfort. "But things have been okay since then?"

"Yes," Lumis said. "I don't recall ever having an argument so bad we thought it would end our friendship, except for some that we had shortly after Marik first threw us together."

"Hmm." Duke leaned back against the banister. He and Tristan had never really been that close, he supposed. They had come through all manner of saving the world disasters together, but they were rarely the types to have heart-to-heart conversations.

"You're still having trouble with Tristan?" Lumis asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Duke started. "Yeah. I guess the whole city probably knows by now." He frowned. "The last time we had trouble this bad was after Tristan found out I pretended to be dead after some smugglers tried to kill me. Tristan couldn't forgive me for weeks . . . months." He drew his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms on top of them.

"So how did you solve that?" Lumis wondered.

A shrug. "Tristan just gradually cooled off," Duke said. He stared at the floor. "I don't feel like I have the strength to go through that again. I just don't."

Somewhere in his mind he knew it was strange that he was telling these feelings to Lumis and Umbra, of all people. But they _had_ been working for him for a while now, and at the moment he supposed he was using them as stand-ins for David. He also didn't feel like he had the strength to keep his feelings bottled up, even if two former Rare Hunters were the only people to confide in right now.

He had certainly changed, though. That disaster with the smugglers operating out of the store seemed a lifetime ago now. Back then, he hadn't trusted anyone . . . or rather, he hadn't let himself trust anyone. His father's teachings against friendship and trust had still been drilled deeply into his heart and soul. He hadn't even been able to admit that David was his friend. By the time he had let himself realize, it had been almost too late. Then David had been killed and Duke had shattered.

Serenity had been his lifeline then, and Snakes too, after Duke had left Domino City and found him. Then he had become obsessed with finding a way to bring David back. When he had, and time had reset, for a while they hadn't remembered the truth. Duke had been happier, not remembering his demons. But he had also gone back to not opening up to people. Gradually that had faded as he had grown closer to David, and when all of their memories had unlocked, he had determined that he wanted to trust more. Maybe that was also why he was willing to talk to Lumis and Umbra.

Now he sighed and gave a weak, tired laugh. "Don't mind me, though. It's not your problem and I know you probably don't know how to deal with it. I just needed somebody to be a sounding board, I guess."

Lumis and Umbra exchanged a look. Finally Umbra came over closer to the stairs and took hold of the banister.

"It really does sound hard," he said. "I don't think I'd have the strength to deal with a friendship problem that went on for months. But . . . you're a stronger person than I am."

"It's hard to believe you couldn't handle anything that came your way," Lumis added.

Duke looked up at them in amazed disbelief. "You mean that?"

"Of course," Umbra said, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Heh." Duke allowed a ghost of a smile as he got to his feet. "That means a lot, although neither of you have seen me at anything close to my worst. When I was pushed too far, I broke like a china doll."

"But you bounced back from it," Lumis pointed out.

Duke pondered. Well, he couldn't deny that.

"They're right, you know."

He started and looked up as David came in through the Employees Only door at the back. "David?! . . ." He smirked. "Oh, well, naturally you'd think so."

"Of course, since I've known you almost all your life," David said lightly. He sobered. "Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah, I still would," Duke mused, "although these two were actually more helpful as psychologists than I'd thought." He gestured at Lumis and Umbra.

"Then it's good we've kept them on," David said. He was still speaking cheekily, but he shot them both a grateful look.

Lumis and Umbra both flushed in a bit of embarrassment.

xxxx

Seto was just walking out the front doors of KaibaCorp, looking through a thick folder of assorted papers, when a shadow sailed overhead. "What the . . . ?!" He looked up with a jerk. A figure dressed in purple was soaring across the building on what appeared to be a grappling hook. "Hey!" Seto glowered at him. "Go do your vigilantism somewhere else!"

The Purple Avenger glanced down at him. From such a distance there was no way for Seto to tell what he looked like, but whoever it was clearly had no intention of coming down. Instead, he landed on an open windowsill near the middle levels and slipped inside.

Seto was calling up his communicator in the next instant. "Security! That idiot vigilante just went inside the building on the 47th floor. Get him!"

"R-Right away, Mr. Kaiba," Fuguta stammered.

Seto turned and stormed back into the building. This was the last thing he needed right now. And why was that blasted vigilante coming to bother him? He had better not think there were any crooks at KaibaCorp!

Mokuba nearly bumped into him in the lobby. "Seto, what's going on?!" he exclaimed. "Roland just said that purple vigilante came in here!"

"He did," Seto growled. "I can't imagine why."

Movement outside caught Mokuba's eye and he looked to where a crowd was starting to gather. "Oh boy. It looks like a lot of people saw him. . . ."

Seto scowled deeper. "Great. Well, I don't have time to deal with them. Send Roland out."

Mokuba nodded. "Right!" He ran for the elevator.

xxxx

Among those starting to crowd around were Yugi, Joey, and Atem.

"See?!" Joey exclaimed. "I knew I wasn't imagining things when I said that guy was swinging around KaibaCorp! Everybody else saw him too!"

"No kidding!" Yugi stumbled back as more curious onlookers arrived and started to crowd him out. "But how are we going to get inside to help out?!"

Atem looked around and slipped to the side of the building. "Let's try other ways in."

Joey's eyes lit up. "Alright!"

Yugi hurried after them as they tried to be quiet and not draw attention to themselves. "Kaiba probably won't want our help, though," he pointed out.

"After all we've been through?" Joey retorted. "He probably expects we'll be showin' up, at the very least!"

On that, Joey was right. Seto looked almost deadpan as he watched them climb in through an unlocked window and quickly shut it behind them. "What took you so long?" he grunted.

"We had to find a way to sneak past all that guy's fans," Joey said.

"I see Tristan isn't here," Seto noted. "I guess he's still sulking after that exhibition at school?"

Yugi sighed. "Apparently he went to talk to the Big Five," he said. "Lector messaged me and said he'd been there after I sent a text asking if anyone had seen him."

"And Téa's at work," Joey added.

"Not anymore!" The window opened again and Téa climbed inside.

"You got off?" Joey blinked.

"I asked Mr. Thorton if I could have today off because I was worried about Tristan and Duke," Téa sighed. "Serenity's going to see Duke and I've been looking for Tristan. I guess I was hoping he'd come here. That, and . . . well, I wanted to help with this vigilante thing too. I didn't know if he might try to hurt Kaiba or Mokuba."

Seto stared. "We're fine."

"We want to help too!" Again the window opened and Bakura stepped in, followed by Yami Bakura.

"He might be the person I saw at Walmart today," Yami Bakura shrugged. "I'm just curious."

"So let's get catching that Purple Avenger!" Téa cheered.

"Whatever." Seto just turned and led them all up in the employee elevator.

The Purple Avenger was running past when they arrived at the right floor and the doors opened. A harried Fuguta was in hot pursuit, followed by several security guards.

". . . Well . . . it looks like we're just in time," Joey blinked. "Hey! Stop!" He immediately dove into the chaos and joined the chase.

Yugi facepalmed. "Joey. . . . We need a strategy!"

"Like heading him off at the other end," Yami Bakura grunted. He slipped into the shadows of the darkened cubicles and soon disappeared in the darkness.

"Not a bad idea," Seto had to admit. He followed suit.

Téa hung back, frowning as she folded her arms. "Don't you think this is all pretty weird? I mean, really, why did that guy come in here?"

"I've been wondering the same thing," Atem frowned. "He didn't seem to be chasing a criminal. It almost seemed like . . . he was trying to get Kaiba's attention. He waited until Kaiba looked up at him before disappearing through the window."

"But why would he want Kaiba to see him?" Yugi frowned.

"This whole thing is really weird," Téa proclaimed. Finally she started moving forward to follow the security guards. Up ahead came the unmistakable sound of multiple people crashing into each other and tumbling to the floor in a heap. Joey soon yelped.

"Oh boy," Yugi cringed. "I wonder if they got the guy?"

They hurried to catch up, and soon found a literal ball of people fighting and struggling with each other. Every now and then someone went flying across the corridor to crash into the wall or the floor.

For a long moment the quartet just stood in open-mouthed shock. Then, finally, Atem came to life. "Stop this!" he boomed.

Everyone froze. Now they could see Seto wasn't even in the mess, and the security guards, Yami Bakura, and Joey seemed to be struggling with an empty purple coat.

"Oh my," Bakura gasped.

"How did he get away?!" Yugi cried in disbelief.

"And where's Kaiba?!" Téa exclaimed.

Yami Bakura swore under his breath and tossed the coat aside, where it swirled over Joey.

"Hey!" Joey yelped. He struggled to wrestle his way out of it.

Yami Bakura was already getting up and running down the hall. As his friends and Fuguta leaped up to give chase again, now it sounded like a fight farther down the corridor.

"Kaiba?!" Téa called. "Are you okay?!"

The sound of a punch. "Yeah."

At last they caught up. Several cubicles had been all but overturned, but in the midst of the chaos Seto was standing and holding onto a dazed stranger.

"_That's_ the Purple Avenger?" Joey frowned. "He don't seem so tough."

"He must have put up a big fight," Téa pointed out. "This place looks like a hurricane blew through here!"

Seto glowered at his captive. "What's this all about?!" he demanded. "Why did you come here?!"

"I . . ." The stranger shifted in Seto's grasp, his eyes darting about in nervousness. "I really didn't mean to cause all this trouble. . . . I just thought I could do something cool and swinging around the KaibaCorp building would get everyone's attention. . . ."

"You're trespassing," Seto snapped. "I could have you arrested!"

The guy cringed. "Oh no. . . ."

"You weren't chasing a criminal?" Yami Bakura grunted.

"N-No," the guy stammered. "I . . . I'm not the real Purple Avenger. . . . I just saw him on TV and thought he was so cool that I . . ." He averted his gaze. "I . . . just wanted to find out what it would be like to be him for a while. . . ."

Mokuba, who was just catching up, stopped and stared in disbelief. "Do you really believe this, big bro?" he frowned.

Seto scowled. "He's either telling the truth or he's pulling a clever bluff to throw us off the track."

Atem came forward and studied him. "He looks like a high school student," he remarked. "The Purple Avenger described by the captured criminals is clearly an adult."

"Not to mention, far more muscular and broad than this boy," Yami Bakura flatly added.

"Did you even think that you might be putting yourself in danger?" Atem scolded the stranger. "Aside from performing such outlandish stunts, you could have attracted the attention of criminals thinking you were the real Purple Avenger! They might have decided to kill you to get you out of their way!"

The kid flushed. ". . . I didn't think about that at all. Am I really going to get arrested?" he moaned. "Mom will kill me. . . . Well, she probably will anyway when she finds out what I did. . . ."

Mokuba looked to Seto. "Maybe we should give him another chance, Seto," he said. "He didn't really do anything worse than inconvenience us for a few minutes. . . ."

Seto didn't look convinced. "Look at this mess!" he retorted, pointing at the snow of papers, overturned chairs, and fallen computers.

"Is anything broken?" Atem asked.

Mokuba ran around picking up the computers and turning them on. "Everything seems fine!"

"If he acts up again, you can always arrest him then," Téa said.

Mokuba beamed. "What do you say, Seto?"

Finally Seto grunted in annoyance and shoved the boy away from him. "Fine. Get out of here. But if I catch you pretending to be that kook again, I won't be so lenient."

The kid practically levitated. "Thank you, Mr. Kaiba!" he exclaimed. ". . . Oh." He gathered some of the fallen papers, stacked them on a chair, and hurried off, collecting his coat from Joey as he ran.

Seto looked to Fuguta. "Follow him and make sure he really goes home," he ordered.

Fuguta nodded. "Of course, Mr. Kaiba." He slipped away after the boy.

". . . Well, that was a weird way to spend the evening," Joey frowned.

"Not to mention we're no closer to finding out who the Purple Avenger really is!" Téa sighed, holding a hand to her forehead.

"I wonder if he's aware that he's causing others to imitate him," Atem remarked.

"When we catch him for real, we'll ask him!" Joey declared.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes: The suggestion of Duke talking to Snakes is from SecretlyAnonymous04!**

**Chapter Four**

Tristan was still in a bad mood as he roamed the streets of Domino that evening. He didn't know what had happened with the imposter Purple Avenger, but he knew sooner or later he had to approach Duke about that conversation they needed to have. He didn't want to now, as he knew Serenity was at the store with Duke, so he was just riding aimlessly until he felt it was late enough that she probably would have gone home.

The sound of wind sweeping through cloth made him look up with a start. The Purple Avenger was soaring past him on a rope. Was he chasing a specific criminal? Tristan was curious. Maybe he would follow for a while on his motorcycle and see what was going on. He might be able to lend a hand. That would feel pretty good, after everything that had happened today.

After a while it became clear that the Purple Avenger was patrolling the streets. He wasn't in pursuit of a crime, just looking for one. And by now he surely knew Tristan was following him.

Tristan ground to a halt. "Hey!" he called.

The Purple Avenger looked down at him, definitely not seeming surprised by his presence.

"What's up?" Tristan asked. "Don't you care if I'm following you?"

In true Purple Avenger fashion, the man didn't speak. But he shook his head.

"It could be dangerous for me," Tristan said.

Still no words. But maybe the Purple Avenger didn't even expect crime to be out tonight.

"Can I come up there with you?" Tristan tried.

A more emphatic shake of the head.

"What, are you afraid I'll uncover your secret identity or something?" Tristan said, only half-sarcastic.

No response at all now. The Purple Avenger just jumped to the next rooftop.

"Well, whatever," Tristan muttered in annoyance. He started his motorcycle again. Without anything else to do, he kept following.

xxxx

It was after dinner when Crump suddenly realized something. "Hey, where did Lector go?" he exclaimed.

Everyone started.

"He was feeling worn-out," Johnson said. "Maybe he went to bed?"

"He doesn't like laying down right after eating," Nesbitt reminded him. "Anyway, I've never seen him go to bed this early except one time when he hadn't slept all night."

"Well, he didn't say he was going anywhere," Crump said. "Only . . . hey, look! His coat and hat are gone!"

Gansley frowned. "He would leave the house without telling us?"

Nesbitt promptly whipped out his phone and tried texting Lector. "He doesn't answer," he growled.

Johnson ran upstairs to check the bedroom. Of course, Lector wasn't there. He hurried back down, shaken. "We'll have to go out looking for him," he exclaimed.

The others were all collecting their coats and preparing to go out. "Are we sure it's so far-fetched for him to be that Purple Avenger guy?" Crump frowned.

"Well, if he is, he'd better have a really good reason," Nesbitt growled.

"We'll soon know," Gansley said. But he spoke a lot more calmly than he felt.

xxxx

Serenity sadly watched Duke as they sat on the couch in his office. He had been discouraged ever since she had arrived, but at least she had been prepared for it since Joey had called to let her know about the blow-up at the high school. He had tried to get his mind on her decorating ideas, but he couldn't seem to focus for long.

"I'm so sorry, Duke," she said at last. "I'm the one who encouraged you to try apologizing to Tristan."

"I would have tried eventually whether you'd said anything or not, Serenity," Duke insisted. He sighed. "I just should have known better."

"Maybe you could try talking to Snakes too," Serenity said. "I know he'd be worried and want to help."

"Maybe I will," Duke mused. "I don't talk to him as much about problems as I used to, maybe because it's harder to do that over the phone. But I'd like to talk to him." He pushed himself off the couch. "Come on, let's go to the mall and find some decorations at Thorton's holiday store."

Surprised, Serenity got up with him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm tired of moping around feeling bad about this mess," Duke said. "I'd rather think about something constructive."

Serenity smiled. "Okay then." She was still worried, but she was all for trying anything that might help Duke get his mind on something else.

xxxx

Yugi's group was walking out of KaibaCorp, accompanied by Seto and Mokuba, when a shadow swept past them.

"Not again!" Téa moaned.

They all jumped when Tristan's motorcycle soon followed and pulled over to the curb.

"Tristan?!" Téa ran over to him. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"Yeah, well, I've been following the Purple Avenger," Tristan said, pointing at the agile man overhead.

"But is it the real Purple Avenger?" Mokuba said. "We just caught a faker!"

"This one looks like he could be real," Bakura said. "He's very broad and muscular."

The Purple Avenger landed on the roof of a building across from KaibaCorp and crouched there, looking down at the group.

"Okay, that's just creepy," Joey declared. He shook his fist. "Hey, you! Whaddya think you're doing?!"

The man pulled his hat lower over his eyes, but not before Mokuba caught a glimpse of something familiar. "No way!" he gasped. "That's Lector!"

"You're kidding!" Téa exclaimed.

"If that's Lector, why isn't he identifying himself?" Seto frowned. "And why would he do something insane like this in the first place?"

"I don't know, but that's him!" Mokuba started to run to the other building. "Lector!"

Seto grabbed his arm. "He's already moving to the next building."

"And the next," Téa moaned.

"You know, I think he's heading for the mall," Yugi realized.

"Seriously?" Joey stared. "What would he want there?"

"What would he want anywhere?" Tristan frowned. "I don't get this! This isn't like him."

A limousine pulled up next to the group and Nesbitt leaped out before it even full stopped. "Lector?!" he yelled.

"You know that's him?" Tristan demanded.

"I don't know, but he's not home and this vigilante looks like him," Nesbitt growled.

"He's going towards the mall," Yugi said. "We'll come with you to catch up to him!"

Everyone started piling into the limousine and the Bakuras' van. Mokuba looked pleadingly at Seto. "I want to go too, Seto," he said. "I'm worried about Lector!"

Seto had expected as much. "By the time I bring the limo around, who knows how far ahead he'll be," he growled. "Go ahead and go with them. I'll catch up."

Mokuba beamed. "Thanks, big brother." He scrambled into the Big Five's limousine with the others and it sped off.

Yami Bakura looked to Seto. "You could just ride with us instead of spending time getting your car," he pointed out.

Seto opened his mouth to protest. He really preferred having his own transportation. But other than that, he didn't really have a reason to object. ". . . Alright," he said at last.

He shook his head as he got into the van. So much had changed in the past year. Last Halloween he certainly wouldn't have allowed Mokuba to ride off with four of the Big Five, even with Yugi and company present. But by now he knew Mokuba would be safe with them.

Still, he hoped they would catch up as quickly as possible.

xxxx

The situation grew more and more bizarre as the group followed the Purple Avenger to the mall, where he did indeed descend onto the roof and proceed to lift up the skylight to enter through it.

"The mall is packed with people!" Joey exclaimed. "Everybody'll see him and mob him to find out who he is! Why the heck does he wanna go there?!"

"Maybe his Spidey sense is tingling?" Tristan retorted sarcastically.

"Just in case there is some kind of crime in the mall, perhaps you should stay back," Gansley said to Mokuba.

"Even if there was, how would Lector know about it all the way at the KaibaCorp building?!" Mokuba retorted. "It's not like he has the Bat-Wave!"

"Just how many superhero jokes are we gonna crack?" Joey muttered.

Nesbitt was already barreling inside and very nearly knocking several people over as he ran for the doors and flung them wide.

"Well, I never," fumed one woman.

"Excuse him, Ma'am; we're all worried about our buddy," Crump told her as he hurried past. "We've gotta catch up to him! He acts like he's flipped!"

"Oh. Oh dear," the woman frowned.

Mokuba was soon on Nesbitt's heels, weaving among the shoppers and doing much better at avoiding them than Nesbitt was. Had Seto been there, he would have found it deja vu to be chasing Lector through the crowded mall, just as he had done last year upon discovering that Lector was back in his body.

"Oh no," Téa moaned as they ran deeper into the mall. "There's the Purple Avenger guy now!" She still wasn't sure she believed it was Lector. "He's running right into Mr. Thorton's store!"

This year Mr. Thorton refused to have a spooky Halloween animatronic crawling around the doorway. But he had a cackling witch stirring a cauldron just to the side of the doorway. The Purple Avenger leaped over the threshold of the doorway without looking down at it, almost as though expecting something would be there. Then he proceeded to tear across the main aisle of the store.

"Now, see here!" Burt Thorton yelped from his position at the counter. "What are you doing?! . . . Oh. . . . Oh no. . . . It's that vigilante! Oh! . . ."

Nesbitt stormed in and ran over to where the Purple Avenger was fleeing. "Oh no you don't!" He tackled the other man around the waist and dragged him to the floor. But although he had braced himself for a great deal of struggling, his captive had gone stiff.

Mokuba ran up next. "You've got him?!"

"Yeah." But Nesbitt was chilled by the lack of movement. Immediately he rose up and pushed the Purple Avenger onto his back. It was indeed Lector staring up at him.

"Lector?!" Mokuba exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"

"And why are you acting like this?!" Nesbitt grabbed a handful of Lector's coat and hauled him up. "I can't really believe you'd run around as a vigilante! And now you're acting like a machine that suddenly doesn't have a master and doesn't know what to do with itself?!"

Mr. Thorton came around the counter. "That man was in here last year!" he cried indignantly. "He tripped over that horrible animatronic I had in the doorway. I'll never forget it!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Thorton," Téa gasped as she ran up with most of the rest of the group in tow. "He's our friend, but we're not sure what's wrong with him."

Nesbitt was starting to panic. Lector was just staring at him, not reacting, not doing anything. _"Lector!"_ he finally screamed, giving the older man a harsh shake.

Lector jumped a mile. He blinked rapidly, looking at Nesbitt as if only really starting to see him now. "Nesbitt . . . ?" He took in the store and his gloved hands. "What . . . what's going on here? What am I doing?"

Nesbitt stared at him in growing alarm. "You . . . you honestly don't know?!"

"No, I don't know!" Lector cried, his voice gaining an edge. "I just sat down in my study after dinner and dozed off in a chair. And now I'm waking up in Mr. Thorton's store with you yelling at me!"

"You've been running around town as the Purple Avenger!" Nesbitt exclaimed. "When I tackled you, you just stared at me like a vacant doll and I couldn't take it. I was worried. . . . No, I was panic-stricken, no matter how foolish it sounds to say it."

"Hey, who wouldn't be panic-stricken?" Crump shot back.

Lector stiffened. "Are you saying I've been sleepwalking all over town?!"

"It's starting to sound that way," Gansley said as he caught up with the group. He made his way over to the shaken Lector. "But are you the original Purple Avenger or another imposter? Yugi was telling us about a fake they caught earlier tonight."

"I . . . I can't imagine," Lector stammered. "I really don't understand what's going on here! I've never sleepwalked before!"

Nesbitt looked away. Now he felt bad for yelling. He had known something had to be drastically wrong, even though he didn't know what. Lector was genuinely frightened by his behavior and couldn't understand. Nesbitt had never considered a sleepwalking explanation, especially since Lector was right that he had never done it before.

"Hey, Buddy. . . ." Crump came over and knelt down by Lector. "It's okay. We're gonna figure it out." He got a strong arm around Lector's back and started to stand while helping Lector to get up as well.

Lector stumbled and gripped at Crump, his hands shaking. "Why would I sleepwalk?!" he cried. "And why would I act out as some fool vigilante?!"

"And why'd you go all stiff when Nesbitt grabbed you?!" Joey added. "That was creepy!"

"Normally he would have put up a fight," Atem agreed. "Maybe even in his sleep, he knew Nesbitt was not someone he wanted to fight."

Mr. Thorton was standing by with wide eyes. "What are you going to do with him?" he demanded.

Mokuba scowled. "It's not like he's dangerous. He wouldn't have hurt you! As the Purple Avenger, he only went after crooks."

Téa nodded. "That's right, Mr. Thorton." She smiled at her boss. "Everything's okay. Lector's a good person."

"But he's caused a commotion in my store for the second year in a row," Mr. Thorton groaned.

Lector looked over at him. "I am so sorry," he said. "I will reimburse you if I've broken anything."

"No, nothing's broken," Mr. Thorton sighed. "Except my nerves!"

"What's going on in here?"

Everyone looked up. The Bakuras and Seto had arrived, and Seto was frowning in bewilderment at the scene.

"It seems that Lector was sleepwalking," Gansley told him. "He has no memory of anything after dozing off in a chair at home."

Seto rocked back in disbelief. "So every time the Purple Avenger shows up, it's because Lector can't stay in one place to sleep?!"

"I don't know!" Lector burst out. "Maybe I'm not even him! Maybe I only sleepwalked tonight!"

"What's weirder, sleepwalking just for tonight or sleepwalking every time the guy's been around?" Joey wondered.

"We should get Lector home and talk about it there," Gansley said with a warning hint to his voice.

"You're right," Téa agreed. Lector looked absolutely distraught and miserable. Her heart went out to him in his confusion.

"And maybe Lector should take off his coat and hat, at least until we get outside," Johnson said. "All the people in the mall will see him and crowd around him because of the Purple Avenger."

Lector instantly started unbuttoning his coat. He turned it inside-out and draped it over his arm, hiding the hat underneath it.

"Whoa, what happened here?"

Again everyone looked up. This time it was Duke and Serenity coming to the doorway. Tristan went stiff and looked away.

"Let's talk about it away from here," Téa said.

Duke and Serenity were quite willing to agree, especially when they saw how Lector looked. They followed the rest of the group back into the mall corridor and towards the doors. There would be time to come back and get decorations later tonight; right now they were worried about their friends.

As they walked, Gansley caught Tristan's eye and gave him a questioning and expectant look. He had determined to try to make up with Duke; was he going to let the sight of Duke walking in with Serenity ruin those plans?

Tristan wasn't sure what he was going to do. It seemed awkward to talk to Duke about solving the problem when Serenity was right there. He shrugged helplessly at Gansley, who sighed in resignation. He had rather quite expected that type of response.

It was a relief when they got out into the autumn night and over to their vehicles. Lector promptly climbed into the limousine and wrapped his coat around himself. He had never grown used to the chilliness of Domino City after the warmth of New Orleans, although one difference he certainly appreciated was the lack of stickiness in the air during the hot months in Domino City.

He waited until everyone had climbed in—including Seto, the Bakuras, and Duke and Serenity, who knelt on the floor due to lack of room—before speaking. "If I'm really sleepwalking as the Purple Avenger all the time, why?! What's wrong with me?!" He looked at his friends in frightened desperation. "People don't do things like that in a normal frame of mind!"

"Sleepwalking isn't an unusual thing," Gansley told him. "Many perfectly normal people do it."

"Yes, but not to this extent," Lector retorted. "How many perfectly normal people have you heard of who go out catching criminals in their sleep?! And when I haven't done it before, it's fairly concerning that I'm doing it now!"

"Stress can cause it," Johnson spoke up. "No one can deny we've been under an incredible amount of stress, not just for the last year, but the last several years."

"And you said last year how your mind was having trouble processing everything we'd gone through during the time we were all out of our bodies," Crump added. "Maybe this is just more of that."

"Maybe," Lector said, but he looked doubtful.

"Whatever's wrong, we're going to find out what and help you, Lector," Téa insisted.

Atem sighed. "Has anyone considered that instead of sleepwalking, Lector may be being controlled by an outside force?"

Seto immediately scowled. "Why does magic have to be responsible for everything? There _are_ logical reasons why things happen, believe it or not."

"I know, Kaiba, but considering what we deal with so often, it would be foolish not to consider magical possibilities as well," Atem said.

Lector groaned. "I'm not sure which is worse. Although I almost think I'd prefer an outside force to having to think I'm so psychologically damaged that I'm doing it on my own."

Mokuba climbed onto the seat next to him and hugged him close. "Lector . . ." He felt so helpless. So often it seemed to him that he could do nothing for Seto's distress. He wished he could help Lector with this.

Lector wrapped his arms around Mokuba. He was still frightened of what was apparently happening to him, but it was comforting to know that his loved ones didn't think him absolutely bizarre.

He looked over at the one close friend who had been completely silent. Nesbitt was sitting across from him, staring out the window, slowly clenching his fist tighter and tighter in his lap.

"Nesbitt!" Lector cried.

Nesbitt jumped a mile.

Mokuba moved aside, letting Lector reach over and gently uncurl Nesbitt's hand. "You almost broke the skin," Lector lamented.

Nesbitt stared down at the crescent marks made by his fingernails. "I wish I could really be comforting too," he confessed. "I'm always screaming at you when that's the last thing you need! I say I'll try to improve myself, but what good does it ever really do?"

"A lot of good," Lector insisted. "You've already made some important improvements. The way you reacted tonight was a lot different than you might have acted some time back. You knew something was wrong; you didn't blurt out anything hurtful about me deceiving you, for instance. And when you yelled and shook me, apparently I was giving you a blank stare. Your reaction was completely normal! I'm grateful you woke me up. Please, don't feel badly about that. Under the circumstances, I believe I would have done the same thing if the situation were reversed."

Finally Nesbitt nodded. "I guess you're right," he rasped. "About me, I mean."

"I am," Lector said. "It means a lot to me that you're really working on improving yourself, just as you vowed you would."

"I don't want to hurt you," Nesbitt said. "And I really couldn't believe that you would deliberately decide to be a vigilante without telling us."

"Or at all," Lector said wryly. "I know you will be trying to help me throughout every bit of this new problem. That's the one comfort I have about this situation—that I'm not alone. I have so many wonderful, loyal friends who will help me through it, including you, Nesbitt."

"And we are definitely all with you, Lector," Yugi finally interjected. "We'll figure out what's going on and why."

"Thank you, all of you," Lector said quietly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Lector was still shaken and confused by the time they arrived back home. The others had gone back to their own vehicles, leaving the Big Five to themselves in the limousine. The group had spent the journey trying to brainstorm and determine what they could do outside of calling in a therapist. All of them agreed it was too soon for that, especially when they still couldn't swear this wasn't magically induced.

"I say the best idea is for us to all take turns watching you sleep tonight, Buddy," Crump told him as they headed inside. "Then, if you start trying to get up again, someone'll be right there to either stop you or follow you!"

"Technically, you're not supposed to wake up sleepwalkers," Johnson mused.

"You certainly have my permission," Lector exclaimed. "If I start trying to walk out of the house as the Purple Avenger again, I _want_ to be woke up!" He sighed. "But I can't say I feel much like sleeping any time soon."

"Of course not," Nesbitt grunted. "That's completely understandable."

Gansley had been silent, pondering on the problem. Now he finally spoke. "We should take this problem one explanation at a time. Suppose we assume that Lector is under a great deal of stress. Since the Purple Avenger doesn't come out every night, we need to figure out what was happening on the nights he did. Were particularly upsetting things happening on those days?"

"I think the most upsetting thing that happened today was Tristan showing up and then blowing up," Crump cracked.

"I _was_ upset when he acted like losing Miss Wheeler was the end of the world and his friendships didn't matter," Lector mused. "But I didn't think I was so upset that I would decide to run around as a vigilante!"

"Of course, you didn't think you might be doing that at all until Nesbitt woke you up tonight at Mr. Thorton's store," Johnson deadpanned.

"Oh. . . ." Lector sighed. "I must admit that's a good point."

Gansley gripped his shoulder. "We're going to find out one way or another what's going on," he said firmly.

"And if it really is that I'm the original Purple Avenger and there's something wrong in my mind . . . then what?" Lector moaned. "I probably really will need a therapist then, at the very least. It's hard enough for me to open up to my best friends. I most certainly don't want to be telling all of my private business to a stranger!"

"We'll worry about that if the time comes," Gansley replied.

"Who knows; maybe we could be the therapists," Crump said. "If it would help stop stuff like this from happening, you could learn to open up better, couldn't you, Pal?"

"I suppose," Lector relented. "It _is_ ironic that I used to want the rest of you to open up and now I'm having such difficulty with it."

"You've always had trouble when it comes to yourself," Crump said. "Sure, you want the rest of us to talk, but you don't wanna talk about your own feelings. You were brought up being told it was better to hold your feelings in, and then you often put that in practice while you were moving up the ladder at KaibaCorp. I saw a lot of that."

"I suppose," Lector sighed.

"If you're gonna be wide-awake for a while, maybe we could even do some talking now," Crump said.

"Maybe," Lector said. "Although my mind is blank. I don't know what to say."

"We'll figure it out," Crump said.

xxxx

Duke and Serenity returned to Thorton's holiday shop once the rest of the groups were on their way in their vehicles. But as they looked over various decorations for the Black Crown, Serenity's mind was wandering.

"I keep thinking about poor Mr. Lector," she said to Duke. "Can you imagine how horrible that would be, to wake up not knowing how you got somewhere or if you were living some other identity in your sleep?"

"It sounds completely bizarre and outlandish," Duke objected. "I can't really picture what it would be like . . . especially when I've lived other identities while I'm awake."

Serenity sighed. "Well, I hope we can all help him figure it out."

"Maybe it's not even him," Duke said. "Maybe someone like Yami Marik just wants to drive him nuts making him think it's him."

"He'd sure do it," Serenity frowned.

Duke nodded. "Maybe especially now that we're remembering what he did to all of us by giving us false memories about when the Big Five hijacked Kaiba's augmented reality game. He might decide he needs to do something else horrible to 'punish' us for remembering the truth."

"That's awful!" Serenity exclaimed. "And just like him."

"Or maybe Lector really is just cracking," Duke said. "I definitely know what that's like. After everything those guys have been through, I'm surprised they're sane at all. I'm surprised any of us are sane!"

"Duke . . ." Serenity took his hand. "You've been thinking a lot about the past lately, haven't you?"

Caught, Duke looked away. "It's hard not to," he said. "This whole mess with Tristan . . . it made me remember the last time we had so much trouble."

"You should definitely talk to Snakes," Serenity said. "He helped you through so much of that horrible time. I couldn't do much when you felt you had to leave Domino, and of course poor David wasn't able to get through to you then. . . ."

"Yeah." Duke heaved a sigh. "Sometimes I wish Snakes would move up here. He had a life for himself down in L.A. before I ever came into the picture, and he wants to stay there and . . . I don't want to leave Domino again, unless it's just for a vacation. . . ."

"We'll probably be going there soon to see Rebecca," Serenity said. "We can visit a lot with Snakes too."

"I'm looking forward to that," Duke said.

"We probably shouldn't even try to buy anything tonight," Serenity said.

"No, I think we should," Duke replied. "The store needs more Halloween decorations and we need to get our minds on something else . . . somehow. My only real question is whether we want to go for cute or creepy." He poked an evil clown cut-out. "_It_ is pretty big right now and it would definitely fit with the clown theme of the store. But . . ." He looked away. "I don't really want to do clowns. Right now I wish there wasn't that big one on the building."

"Of course not," Serenity said softly. Clowns reminded Duke too much of his father.

"Maybe this." Duke grabbed a large, furry spider.

"That's pretty creepy," Serenity agreed.

"Yeah." Duke picked up several more. "These, and some fake webs. . . ." He threw them all into the cart.

"And it wouldn't hurt to have something cute too." Serenity lifted a battery-operated Jack-O-Lantern with a friendly smile.

Duke smiled a bit. "Sure."

He cheered up more as they shopped. It really did feel good to get his mind on something else. He hoped that Tristan was being able to do the same thing. Lector as well.

xxxx

The night passed with everyone wondering and worrying about what to do about both Lector's problem and Tristan and Duke's problem. By the time Lector finally fell asleep, the rest of the Big Five realized they had another problem.

"So . . . what if whoever's watching falls asleep and Lector slips out past us?" Crump said.

"Then I guess whoever's keeping watch needs to be positioned in a way that they'll wake up if Lector moves," Johnson said.

Nesbitt grunted. "I can only think of one way that might work." He climbed onto the bed on top of the covers and draped an arm around Lector as he laid down next to him.

"That works," Crump said.

"Heh. It wouldn't work for me," Gansley said. "I never woke up when my wife got out of the bed, even if she had to move my arm away from her."

"I'll just keep watch myself tonight," Nesbitt mumbled.

"Good luck," Johnson said. "You know you're the one who moves all over a bed. You might try to claim the entire thing and end up knocking Lector out of bed before the night's over."

Nesbitt flushed and hid in the pillow. "I'll hold still," he muttered.

Crump patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you will."

Johnson's obnoxious front wavered and fell away as he, Gansley, and Crump walked out of Lector's room and he pulled the door shut. "So . . . what do we do if we don't get any answers by morning?" he worried.

"Let's worry about that come morning," Gansley sighed. "But it's very possible Lector won't try to go out again tonight. I don't recall that the Purple Avenger has ever gone out twice in the same night."

"You don't think he's . . . really losing his marbles, do you?" Crump worried. "Sometimes I feel like I might be heading in that direction myself. I mean . . . how much can somebody really take before they break under the strain?"

"I certainly don't want to think it," Gansley frowned. "We definitely have been through far more than the average person, but so have Yugi and his friends. They've stayed sane, somehow."

"Maybe the strain's getting to them too," Crump said. "This whole mess with Tristan and Duke probably wouldn't have even gone down if Tristan hadn't been so stressed about what was happening in New Orleans."

"That's a good point," Johnson said. "But anyway, even if Lector just can't take it anymore, that doesn't mean he's losing his mind."

"I sure hope he's not," Crump said.

"We'll help him get through this, no matter what the explanation is," Gansley said. "And we should probably be better with dealing with our own demons as well; any of us could end up reacting harshly to our heartaches just as poor Lector is—if that is indeed why he's suddenly sleepwalking."

"That means you too," Crump said, giving Gansley a pointed look. "None of you guys really like opening up, but I've always had the most trouble with you!"

"Guilty as charged," Gansley grunted. "And probably mainly for the same reason you have trouble with Lector. Both of us are so obsessive with the notion that we must be strong for the others."

"Well, you don't, okay?" Crump shot back. "We wanna help you guys when you're hurting!"

Gansley smiled a bit. "I know. So does Lector."

"So . . . are we going to try to sleep?" Johnson wondered.

"I suppose. If we can," Gansley grunted.

"Yeah. . . ." Crump sighed. They might just all stay awake worrying and wanting to hear if Lector suddenly got up, even though Nesbitt was watching over him. It was never easy to sleep when one or more of them was in trouble.

xxxx

Duke waited until after he and Serenity put up the decorations at the store and he had taken her home before calling Snakes. Snakes always worked late at the casino and was rarely available before now anyway, although Duke hated to keep him up late talking about his problems. But the thought of talking to him had been comforting and therapeutic during the evening and Duke had been anxious to try.

Snakes was very happy to hear from Duke. "Hey, Duke!" he greeted. "How is everything?"

Duke sighed. "I would like to say everything's fine, but . . . it's not."

"Uh oh." Snakes frowned. "What happened now?"

Duke wasn't sure how long he laid on the bed and elaborated all of the problems with Tristan, starting with the argument in New Orleans and continuing with what had happened that day. Snakes listened, as he always had, genuinely concerned and sad for his friend.

"I just don't know what to think or do anymore," Duke said at the conclusion. "I did nothing and things got worse. I tried to be the one to apologize and things got even worse than that. I'm just so fed-up and frustrated and discouraged. I don't want to be having this problem with Tristan, but he clearly doesn't want to try to fix it."

"Honestly, I think you've done all you can," Snakes said. "It should be up to Tristan to make the next move."

"That's what David said too," Duke said. "That makes sense, but I'm still so upset about it. I just wish there was something more I could do. It's not like I can give him Serenity. I don't want to give her up, and she chose me, so she wouldn't want to go either."

"I can't really relate to this helplessness over coming to blows with a friend, I have to admit," Snakes said. "I've had very few real friends in my life and I haven't had any devastating arguments with any of them. Although before I made friends with some of them I had to prove I was trustworthy after some problems we had in the past, so I guess to that extent I can relate a little. I was nervous and didn't know if they would accept me, but I was honestly sorry for the past and wanted to try to make up for it."

"How long did you have to keep trying?" Duke asked.

"A while," Snakes admitted. "I couldn't just say I was sorry and that was it; I had to keep reaching out. But if you've reached a point where the other person clearly doesn't want you reaching out, like you apparently have with Tristan, I think it only makes it worse to keep trying."

"Yeah, I guess so," Duke frowned. "But it's not like I can really give Tristan much space, either; we see each other every day at school."

"Well, maybe do what you can," Snakes said. "Hopefully he'll feel bad about what he did and come to you. I have to admit I'm biased in your favor; it's hard for me to feel like you're in the wrong here."

Duke smiled a bit. "It's nice to hear. Although I'm not sure what I think; Bakura wondered if I shouldn't have tried to get Serenity interested in me when I showed up. I could see she didn't have romantic feelings for Tristan and I wanted to try. She really didn't start get interested in me either, though, until we had some real interaction and not just my shallow flirting. It didn't take me too long to figure out that approach wasn't going to work on her. She was too special for that."

"I'd be more inclined to say anyone had a fair chance with her," Snakes mused, "although it would be a sticky situation with friends. I can't see myself tryin' to nose in with a girl if Coley or Lafe was trying to get her interested in them."

". . . And I wouldn't do that to David," Duke mused. "You're right; it is kind of a jerky thing to do to a friend, especially not without talking to them about it first. But Tristan and I really weren't friends, like he said. He'd only really seen me during that Dungeon Dice Monsters fiasco with my dad, and then occasionally around school, and then suddenly I'm interested in Serenity. . . ." He sighed. "Thinking of it like that, I wonder how Tristan ever felt anything okay about me at all. Maybe it was always just an act he put on around Yugi and the others."

"I get the feeling he's too sincere to be much of a good actor," Snakes said.

"That's what I thought," Duke admitted. "But then that would mean that he actually did come to think of me as a friend, and that's hard to swallow when I'm looking at the problem in this light."

"Maybe he tried to tell himself that you weren't friends, so Serenity was fair game," Snakes said. "And it worked for a while, but now all the bottled-up frustrations and feelings just had to come out somehow."

"Yeah, maybe so," Duke frowned. "But you still figure I should wait for him to make the next move?"

"I think so," Snakes said. "If you keep trying, you might just overcrowd him and he'll get angrier and angrier. You've tried, and he's made his position pretty clear, so now the ball's in his court."

"And all I can do is stew around waiting for him to want to fix things," Duke sighed. "Well, thanks, Snakes."

"I'm only sorry I couldn't be more help," Snakes said.

"No, you're fine. You had good advice, and using you as a sounding board helped me sort some things out." Duke sat up. "I have a lot to think about now. I'll let you know how things turn out."

"You do that, and call any time you need to," Snakes told him.

"I will." Duke said Goodbye and set the phone aside before laying back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. A lot to think about indeed.

xxxx

Nesbitt had been in an odd state of half-dozing, half-awareness when he felt Lector stir under his loosely draped arm. "Nesbitt . . ."

He opened his eyes and looked over. Lector was still facing away from him. "How do you know it's me?" he grunted.

"Somehow it seemed like something you would more likely do to keep watch on me than the others would," Lector mumbled. "And thank you for not knocking me out of bed."

"It seemed like the best way to monitor you." Nesbitt sat up and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. ". . . It's after four in the morning."

Lector rose up and turned to look at him. "And you're laying there on top of the covers," he remarked, shaking his head.

Nesbitt shrugged in embarrassment. He hadn't felt like climbing under the covers uninvited.

Sensing that, Lector gave him a fond smile. "If you do this again, you're welcome to just crawl under the quilts," he said.

Nesbitt nodded but still wasn't sure he would.

"Well, it means a great deal to me that you're all trying so hard to look out for me," Lector said sincerely. "When I was dozing off to sleep I felt like I was remembering something."

"Yeah? What's that?" Nesbitt asked, perking up.

"I feel like I am not the original Purple Avenger," Lector said. "I remember dozing off earlier thinking how impressive it was that he was out there catching criminals and protecting his loved ones. I wished that I could do that. And as I was drifting off to sleep, I decided I would. I feel like I subconsciously made myself sleepwalk tonight because I was so frustrated and I wanted to feel like I had power to help and protect that I don't in reality."

"That doesn't prove anything," Nesbitt pointed out. "You could have seen the exploits of the Purple Avenger and not realized it was yourself. And that could be true even if you wished you had that power when you saw the news report on the very first time the man came out. You might not consciously remember your feelings if you've kept them so deeply bottled up that you rarely even acknowledge you have them."

Lector sighed. "I suppose. I just . . . really don't want to believe that I'm in such a serious emotional state that I've been going out night after night and don't remember."

Nesbitt sighed too. "I know. I don't really want to believe it either."

"I know I've felt so angry and helpless, especially the more things happen, and yet . . . something in me just says that vigilante is not me." Lector gripped the quilt. "But maybe it's just my fear. Because honestly, Nesbitt, I'm afraid." He looked up, and the fear in his eyes stood out against the darkness of the night. "I'm often afraid for you and the others, but I'm not usually so afraid for myself. Right now, however . . ." He shook his head.

Nesbitt's heart twisted. Lector was rarely ever so open. He didn't like seeing his friend like that, only open because he was that scared. Nesbitt didn't even know what to say to that. How could he say everything would be alright when he didn't know it would be?

"Whatever happens, I'll be here for you," he said at last. That sounded hollow to him, really; how could any insinuation that something might be wrong possess any kind of comfort?

Lector smiled anyway. "I know you will be. But at least . . . if something is wrong . . . I pray I . . . won't have to go away."

Nesbitt stared at him. "You mean to an insane asylum?!"

Lector gave a forlorn nod. "I can't help wondering, all things considered."

"You're most certainly not insane!" Nesbitt said fiercely. "And if anyone tries to say you are, they'll have to deal with me! Just being so upset that you're sleepwalking as a vigilante hardly means you're out of your mind!"

"That sounds logical," Lector agreed. "But this situation is so illogical that it's hard to know what rules apply."

"They'll never take you away," Nesbitt snarled. "I won't let them! If anything is wrong, you'd recover better here at home with your loved ones anyway."

"I feel the same," Lector said. "But it means everything that you are so protective of me, Nesbitt."

"_What the heck?!"_ Crump suddenly yelped from out in the hall.

Both of them jumped a mile. They were climbing down from the bed in the next instant and hurrying to the doorway, Lector only barely remembering to shove his feet into his slippers along the way.

"What's going on out here?!" Nesbitt demanded as he flung the door wide. "For all you'd know, we were asleep!"

Crump was thundering up the stairs, his eyes wide. "Lector?!" He focused on Lector and just stared at him.

"Yes." Lector folded his arms. "What is this, Crump?"

Crump shook his head and pointed back down the stairs in the direction of the living room. "There's live coverage of the Purple Avenger plopping some bank robbers on the steps of the police department! For one split-second he turned and the camera caught him. And it was you, Buddy!" He stared. "But you're here, so how can you be on the live footage?!"

"Obviously I'm not," Lector retorted. But now he looked visibly shaken. What on Earth was happening?!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes: Now **_**Among the Ashes**_** becomes a very important fic referenced. I am not fully sure if the other world being described here is the alternate Yami Bakura's world—the manga world—however, although there are definitely similarities with it.**

**Chapter Six**

Lector barely took time to dress before the Big Five were taking off in his car, desperately heading for the area where the Purple Avenger had been seen. They were all sure he wouldn't still be anywhere near there, and yet they felt they had to try looking.

What some of them had seen was absolutely bizarre. Was it a trick of Yami Marik's? Someone else's? What other explanation could there be but a trick?

"You're absolutely sure about what you saw?" Nesbitt demanded. "How good of a look did you get at the guy?"

"Well, it was just a split-second and all, and probably nobody who isn't close to Lector would get it, but yeah, we sure did!" Crump exclaimed. "It wasn't just me!"

Gansley and Johnson nodded.

"It was clearly Lector, or someone pretending to be him," Johnson said.

"But I was upstairs in bed!" Lector cried. "I never left!"

"He didn't," Nesbitt insisted. "I felt when he moved, and that was only a few minutes before you saw the guy on TV!"

"You'd think if someone was really trying to get Lector in trouble, they wouldn't have been visible for only a split-second," Gansley remarked. "And they probably wouldn't have waited until now to show their face."

"Then you figure it was an honest accident?" Johnson frowned.

"Probably," Gansley agreed.

"What about who it is?" Nesbitt countered. "Do you have any ideas on that?"

"I'm afraid not," Gansley sighed.

They were all reeling, and no one quite expected anything to come of their search, but without warning the Purple Avenger suddenly swooped past them on a rope, forcing Gansley as the driver to brake.

Nesbitt was wrenching the door open in the next instant. "Come back here!" he yelled.

"Nesbitt!" Gansley exclaimed in exasperation. "Don't go doing something rash!"

Nesbitt wasn't about to either hold still or listen. The Purple Avenger was swinging from roof to roof above him, and if he wasn't going to come down, Nesbitt was going to match him move for move. He slipped up a fire escape with the stealthiness of the kendo master he was.

"Nesbitt!" Lector hissed. He got out as well and then just stood, craning his neck upward to watch his friend. He certainly couldn't move near-silently like that, and he didn't want to risk putting Nesbitt in danger by making his presence known. They had no idea what this Purple Avenger was like or if he would harm anyone who got too close to learning his identity.

Crump looked to Gansley. "Well? What are we gonna do?! Get out and run after him or try to head him off?"

"Head him off." Gansley started the car again and sped off after the Purple Avenger.

The vigilante was just swinging down to a balcony when Nesbitt caught up to him. Suddenly the martial artist was flying out of the night, wrapping his arms around the Purple Avenger's waist. The other man hissed in surprise but did nothing to dislodge Nesbitt. Nor did he have the chance before they tumbled down the metal steps—third level, second level, first level . . . and then deposited ungracefully in a heap on the ground.

Nesbitt was kneeling up in an instant. "Alright, you!" he snarled. "Who are you and why have you been causing so much commotion?! Don't you know you could get my friend into a lot of trouble by running around dressed like him?!" He grabbed the Purple Avenger, forcing him to turn onto his back.

Lector's double was looking up at him. At first Nesbitt stared, sickened and outraged and in confused disbelief. What right did this person have to do such a thing, looking just like his friend?! It couldn't be for any positive reason! But then he saw something he had never expected to see—this other Lector had tears in his eyes.

"Nesbitt. . . ." He reached up, touching the side of Nesbitt's face. "It's you. . . . You're alive. . . . You're really here. . . ."

Nesbitt went stiff. "C-cut it out!" he spat. "You're trying to confuse me! Well, it's not going to work!"

"No," the Purple Avenger said softly. "I'm not trying to confuse you." He sat up, shaking, his hat falling back on his head. Without the dark shadows over his face, a scar along his left cheek was visible.

Nesbitt stared. "What . . . happened to you?" But he pulled himself out of his shock in the next moment. "No . . . it's a trick! It has to be a trick!"

Lector caught up then, followed closely by the car. "Nesbitt?!" He took one look at the scene and gasped. It was hard to prepare oneself for the sight of a double.

The Purple Avenger could have easily pushed Nesbitt away and ran, especially now that the man was so stunned. But instead he sat there, gazing, looking as though he wanted anything but to leave. When Gansley, Crump, and Johnson surrounded him too, he just looked up at them, overcome. "You're all here," he whispered. "You're all alive. . . ." His shoulders trembled.

Nesbitt was badly shaken by this point. It was obvious that this man was hurting very deeply, and when he looked just like Lector and spoke like Lector and could scarcely seem to comprehend that he was actually with Nesbitt and the others, Nesbitt didn't know what to think. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to be harsh anymore. But he still blurted with an edge to his voice, "What are you talking about?! Why wouldn't we be alive?!"

"Who are you?" Gansley asked, simply and precisely, also with an edge.

"I . . ." The Purple Avenger took a deep breath. "I am Démas Leichter. I never changed the spelling of my name. I am your friend, but from an alternate world."

Lector rocked back, staring at him. "You . . . you're another version of me?!"

"Yes." The Purple Avenger slid his legs out from where Nesbitt was straddling him and got to his feet.

"If we hadn't already seen proof that there are other worlds, I would say you were playing us for fools," Gansley said harshly.

"He isn't." Nesbitt got up too. "Somehow I know he isn't. The pain in his eyes . . . his face. . . . That was real."

"In my world, the others are all dead," the Purple Avenger rasped. "They were killed by Yami Marik. I only barely got out alive myself." He touched the scar on his cheek.

Lector stared at him. He knew the anguish of being the only one left alive, even though he had then experienced the joy of seeing the others restored to life. "I can't imagine the pain you are going through," he whispered. "If I had never got my dear friends back, I . . . I'm not sure I could go on."

"And I can't let that happen to you," the Purple Avenger said. "Somehow I found a portal connecting our worlds and sometimes I come through. I take the guise of the Purple Avenger to fight criminals who might encounter you. I can do nothing about the magical beings, but at least I can keep some of the dangers off your backs. And every now and then, just to see you . . . all of you . . . it brings my loved ones back to me, even for just a moment."

Silence reigned for a long moment. No one knew what to say. They still couldn't ignore the thought, the possibility, that this was a cruel trick. But deep down, none of them really believed that.

"What world are you from?" Gansley asked at last. "We have an alternate Yami Bakura who showed up here after Zorc was defeated. He proceeded to torment all of us and snarl about how 'ungrateful' Bakura was not to have appreciated his help with getting rid of bullies and making sure Bakura was never alone. He's been in a Mind-Crushed coma for months."

"I don't know if I am from his world," the Purple Avenger replied. "I have only seen my world and yours, but there may be many alternate worlds."

"Are you the original Purple Avenger?" Lector asked. "What about me?"

"I am the original as far as this world is concerned," was the reply, "but supposing certain things are our destinies, maybe Démas Leichter is destined to become the Purple Avenger in every world, just differently in each one. You still have your loved ones, so you are far more blessed than I am. Your reason for becoming the Purple Avenger is different from mine."

"But I believe I was subconsciously inspired by you," Lector countered. "And do you know if I am actually sleepwalking?!"

"I don't know," the Purple Avenger told him. "If I have caused you pain, I'm sorry. That's the last thing I wanted for you."

"How many times have you come around?" Gansley asked.

"Whenever I can't take the pain anymore," the Purple Avenger replied. "I have been here six times, counting tonight."

Lector groaned. "Then I must have become him more than just tonight."

"There could be a lot of fakers around," Nesbitt insisted. "There was at least one."

The Purple Avenger cringed. "I didn't mean for that to happen either."

"And you know, tryin' to keep us safe from crooks is good and all, but honestly, we're in a lot more danger from the magical beings," Crump said.

"How well I know." The Purple Avenger clenched a fist. "What I do probably helps very little, but it's all I know to do. I have to do _something_ or I'll lose my mind."

Lector stared at him, haunted. This was another him. This was what he could be under the same circumstances—so sad, so devoid of life in his eyes. . . .

"Don't you have anyone?" he asked sadly. "What about Evangeline? And Mokuba?"

"My family has all abandoned me, except for Evangeline," the Purple Avenger said. "She isn't allowed to see me. Our father practically keeps her locked in the house constantly. He has so much influence in New Orleans that I haven't been able to get anyone to listen to me to help get her out!"

"That's sick!" Crump burst out.

"As for Mokuba . . ." The man's eyes darkened. "He's a disrespectful child. I couldn't do anything with him or with his brother. He doesn't care about me."

Crump cringed. "Well, that alternate Yami Bakura did say the Mokuba in his world was a brat. . . ."

Lector pondered. "What happened with KaibaCorp in your world? Did you try to take it over?"

"When I saw what kind of person Seto was becoming, yes, I did," the Purple Avenger said. "Just as I helped him take it away from Gozaburo before that. Seto stripped all of us of our power after promising us we would be equals with him in running KaibaCorp."

"Well, that sounds pretty much the same as here," Crump said.

The Purple Avenger looked away. "We tried to do things I am not proud of. After we were found out and Seto fired us, we fell into disrepair. We couldn't get jobs. . . . No one would hire us. . . . Then Yami Marik came to us. He had survived in the Darkness and grown stronger, and he still wanted to kill everyone until he was the only one left. He invited us to help him bring down KaibaCorp, but we didn't want to do that, not anymore, and certainly not his way. Somehow we ended up trying to save the company and the brothers from him." His voice broke. "He killed all of the others! I only survived because . . ." He choked on a sob.

"Because they all gave their lives for you," Lector quietly realized.

The Purple Avenger gave a weak nod.

"But . . . Mokuba. . . . Didn't he realize all of you were trying to save him and his brother?" Lector exclaimed.

"He thought we'd been working with Yami Marik," the Purple Avenger said. "I couldn't get him to understand. . . . He didn't believe me. . . . I suppose I can't blame him."

Nesbitt clenched a fist at his side. "Is Yami Marik still running loose in your world?"

"Yugi Muto sealed him in the Darkness again, even without the Millennium Puzzle or the Pharaoh," the Purple Avenger said. "I'm not clear on how. But Domino City is a shambles. They're still trying to rebuild it."

"And . . . you're really sure the others are all dead?!" Crump blurted. "I mean, we all died saving Lector from a psycho too! But this angel brought us back to life. . . ."

The Purple Avenger stared at him. For one moment his eyes flickered with hope. But then he looked away and shook his head. "They're all dead, lost to the Darkness. Defeating Yami Marik didn't bring them back, so obviously they suffered real deaths, nothing that can be fixed."

"I am so sorry," Lector said quietly.

"I never even told them . . . they never knew . . . how much I . . ." The Purple Avenger trailed off. "You always let them know how much you love them," he said fiercely. "And don't be afraid to open up to them. They love you so much. They want to help you!"

"I know," Lector said.

"And he tells us," Crump said. "We all know how much we . . . love each other. . . ." He swallowed hard and trailed off. This was affecting all of them very deeply. Right now he just wanted to pull all of them into a firm hug and rejoice that they were all still alive and together.

The Purple Avenger heaved a sigh. "It's almost morning. I'm never around in the daylight. I should go."

"Back through this portal?" Crump exclaimed. "How about we take you to it?" From his tone, he still wanted more verification that this tale was true.

"Alright," the Purple Avenger agreed.

Gansley had been very quiet for quite some time. He drove silently, following the directions out of town until they came to a stand of trees close to the mouth of Domino Canyon.

"It's here," the Purple Avenger said. He started to get out of the car. "Thank you."

"Will you be back?" Gansley finally asked.

"Most likely," the Purple Avenger said. "If the portal stays open. I don't know how long it's been around or how long it might stay. I only found it by accident."

"We'll walk you to it," Nesbitt said. From his tone, he still wasn't sure he believed any of this. He certainly didn't want to believe it. And yet, he was certain this person was sincere. He couldn't stand to see another version of his friend so unhappy.

The Purple Avenger just nodded. "Come on then." He walked slowly, dreading the return to his world. These people weren't his loved ones, but they were other versions of them. He could hardly stand the thought of going back to his lonely existence again, especially now that he had interacted with them.

The portal was a strange vortex suspended in mid-air. The energy was palpable before they reached it, and once they did, they could see it turning about in the circular opening.

Nesbitt couldn't resist leaning in to look through it.

"Nesbitt!" Lector exclaimed.

Nesbitt pulled back after a moment, shaken. "It looks like Domino on the other side," he said, "but you can see some of the destruction from the hill. Yami Marik did all of that by himself?!"

"Not by himself," the Purple Avenger replied. "He joined forces with something . . . some evil, powerful being he found in the Darkness. Yugi said the seal will only work temporarily, and that when they break free, he's going to need something else to defeat them. He didn't say what, and I'm not sure he knows himself. He said Shadi told him that."

"Your world is a mess," Crump exclaimed. "Why don't you just stay here?"

Everyone started.

"Crump?" Gansley said in surprise.

"I can't stand to see Lector so broken up!" Crump insisted. "I know all of you feel the same way. Okay, so he's not _our_ Lector. He's still a Lector!"

Nesbitt nodded. "I feel that way too."

"Yes," Johnson said quietly.

Gansley gripped his cane. He didn't quite see how it would work to have two Lectors around, and yet he couldn't deny he also hated to see this one go back to a world where he was all alone. "We would all open our homes to you," he said at last.

The Purple Avenger stood, smiling sadly at all of them. "I couldn't ask any of you to do that," he said.

"You didn't ask!" Crump shot back. "We're telling you!"

"But I might inadvertently take you away from your Lector," he replied. "I don't see how you could properly divide your attention between both of us. And anyway, there wouldn't be any way you could explain me away to the city. No; I can't risk putting all of you in a sticky situation like that. You're all getting back on your feet again . . . the way we wanted to do." He laid a hand on Crump's shoulder. "I'm going back. Just know that seeing all of you . . . talking to you . . . has given my life purpose again after I don't know how long. Thank you for that." He took a deep breath. "Goodbye." He leaped into the portal before he could change his mind.

"No!" Nesbitt exclaimed. He grabbed for the Purple Avenger, but only snatched a piece of the coat. It tore off in his hand.

For a long moment the Big Five just stood there, shaken, staring at the portal as it continued to spin and twist in mid-air. They were frozen, not certain what to do. They all recognized the logic of the Purple Avenger's words, and yet none of them could bear just leaving things as they were.

". . . So . . . what are we gonna do?" Crump finally spoke, barely above a whisper.

"What can we do, Crump?" Gansley shot back. "His friends are dead."

"Are they?" Nesbitt growled. "I'm still not sure I believe it. What if they're alive and . . . trapped in some other dimension or something? I say we need to find out for sure. If there's anything we could do to reunite that other Big Five, we have to do it!"

"It's really not our problem," Johnson said. "It's another world. A portal connecting our worlds is just an error. It won't last." He looked away.

"Is that really what you believe, Johnson?" Gansley asked.

Johnson flinched. "No. I was just testing it out to see how it felt to say it. I don't want that Lector to suffer, especially if he doesn't have to. But . . . I don't want us to go over there and get in trouble either! No one trusts that Lector. If we go over, who knows what might happen to us!"

"That _is_ a legitimate point," Gansley admitted.

Lector turned away, rubbing his forehead. "Oh. . . . I don't know what I think. . . ."

"Maybe we should talk to Yugi and everybody and tell them," Crump said. "We kind of need to anyway, I mean. . . ." He gestured at the portal. "This is important stuff! Think about this—if the other Lector can come through, who knows what else might! We've already had to tangle with that other Yami Bakura, if that's his world over there. What if this other Yami Marik comes over after he breaks free of the seal?!"

"That . . . would be bad," Johnson frowned.

"And what if the Yami Marik over here finds that same evil force in our world and combines with it?" Nesbitt worried. "If everything happens in each world, just differently, that could still be something we'll have to contend with in the future!"

"Oh boy." Crump cringed. "I didn't even think about that."

Lector drew a deep breath and took out his phone. "I don't think we have any other choice. I'm calling Yugi."

"You know, in all the chaos I didn't even stop to think, but we still don't know how much you've been running around as the Purple Avenger or why," Crump said.

Lector paused. "Right now, I don't even care anymore. I would say it must have been a by-product of trying to deal with everything we've been going through. Maybe my former fiancée acting out in New Orleans was the final straw. So many of the things going wrong are connected with me somehow—Khu's rage against me, my family, Dr. Raven, Darcy. . . . Maybe subconsciously, I just finally broke."

Nesbitt growled and drew an arm around Lector's shoulders, hugging him close. "None of that was your fault."

"But I would blame myself anyway," Lector said. "Just as I know you would blame yourself."

"That makes sense to me," Crump admitted. "But I'm sorry, Buddy. . . . I know how much you were hoping you weren't doing it, or that tonight was the only time you did. . . ."

Lector sighed. "I need help, but so does this other Lector. His problems are more important now."

"Oh yeah?!" Crump suddenly boomed. "Sure they're important, but you're always saying someone else's problems are more important than yours! That's a lot of how you've ended up bottling stuff up, because you don't wanna burden anyone else with it since their problems are worse! That other Lector was acting just the same as you too! He wouldn't stay here because he was trying to think more about what would be better for us!"

Everyone jumped. Lector especially stared at Crump in shock.

Gansley's eyes flickered with concern. "Crump . . . you're the same way," he pointed out.

Lector nodded. "I observed that earlier tonight. You're always trying to get us to open up. You say that you talk about things that are bothering you, but that mostly only happens if you can get one of us to talk about what's bothering us. Most of the time, you don't talk about it otherwise!"

Crump drew a shaking breath. ". . . I guess you're right. All of this is really getting to me now."

"It's getting to all of us," Gansley said. "Let's talk with Yugi and the others and figure out what to do." He looked to Lector. "I don't think a phone call will work for something like this. We'll go over in person. It's far too early, but under the circumstances they will understand. They would want to know."

"You're right," Lector said. He looked to Nesbitt as they headed back to the car. "Are you alright, Nesbitt? You're not usually so quiet."

"Yeah! I even blew up and you didn't," Crump exclaimed.

"I don't know how I am," Nesbitt growled. "This is all so much to take in. We knew there were other versions of us from that other Yami Bakura, but I thought they were all still alright. I had no idea something like _that_ had happened to them!" He snarled. "The way that other Lector looked at me when I tackled him. . . . I can't _stand_ to see any Lector look like that!" He punched the car door as they arrived.

Lector took Nesbitt's hand in his. "I know. I would feel the same if I had seen an alternate version of any of you who was so unhappy. As it is, I am very badly shaken by seeing another me. That would be me if I was in his position. And I could have been in his position so many times. I wouldn't be surprised if that knowledge is also what's driven me to go out as the Purple Avenger." He sighed. "But I don't want to be the Purple Avenger. I promise I will try to do better to talk about my feelings. I would like to try that first before going to some therapist or anything like that. But for now, I really want to see if we can help this other Lector, if there's any way that his loved ones might still be alive."

"We all do," Gansley said. He climbed into the car and the others followed suit. "So we're going to find out. Let's go see Yugi."

xxxx

Across town at Seto's medical center, in one of the isolation rooms, chocolate brown eyes snapped open. The alternate Yami Bakura sat up in bed, studied his current situation, and promptly pulled the IV out of his arm. The rest of the unwanted attachments soon joined it. Then, even as the medical equipment started to beep wildly in response to his abandoning it, he calmly walked out of the room and down the hall.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes: I refreshed my memory on the Big Five's brief time in the manga and determined that, hence, the alternate world can be the manga verse. Timeframe is between the end of the manga and **_**Dark Side of Dimensions**_**, if that movie exists in this manga verse. Personalities aside from Mokuba's may lean more towards the movie's portrayals since those were closer to the anime personalities and hence, easier for me to bond with. Manga Mokuba I'll be trying to move closer to his movie personality through the story. He certainly matured quite a bit by the movie!**

**Chapter Seven**

Both Yugi and Atem were first stunned and then thunderstruck when the Big Five showed up at the Game Shop before dawn and told their story. Solomon was awake and listened as well, and Mrs. Muto hung around near the front room doorway at various parts, although she really tried not to hear what was happening for the most part.

"Oh wow. This is really bad," Yugi said at the conclusion. "I wonder how long that portal's been open."

"It may have torn open when that other Yami Bakura fell into our world," Solomon said.

"Only I looked and looked all over town for a portal shortly after that happened and I didn't find anything," Atem said. "Our Yami Bakura looked as well."

"Maybe you guys never looked near the canyon," Crump countered. "And maybe that Ring thing was messing up again and wouldn't tell that there was a portal up there."

"That is certainly possible," Atem conceded.

"And what about the other Big Four?" Crump continued. "We wanna find out if there's any way they could still be alive!"

"But to do that, we'd probably have to cross over into the other dimension," Lector said. "None of us are sure if that's a good idea."

Atem sighed. "Well, we should try to figure out why the portal is open and how to close it, and the answers might only be on the other side. I don't think everyone should cross over, just in case something does go wrong, but some of us should certainly investigate."

Yugi bit his lip. "It sounds like you haven't come back in the other world," he said slowly. "If you go over, that me might get really excited thinking you're coming back. . . ."

"That's true," Atem said. "But I hate to think of Yami Bakura going over, particularly when the Yami Bakura from there caused so much trouble and has not repented of any of it. Our Yami Bakura might end up in a lot of trouble over there, even if he stays in his Egyptian form and isn't as readily recognized."

"We're only assuming that world is the one the other Yami Bakura came from," Nesbitt pointed out. "Maybe there really are 'many worlds.'" He made a face. That was an absolutely bizarre thing to think about—countless versions of all of them . . . of Lector. . . . How many were happy? Were there others as despondent as the Purple Avenger they had met? What if some were even worse off . . . if that was possible?

The phone ringing startled all of them. Yugi snatched it up. "Hello?"

"Yugi, we've got big trouble," Seto growled. "My medical center just called. That Yami Bakura the Pharaoh had me keeping there has woke up and escaped."

"What?! Oh no!" Yugi gasped.

"He might be heading your way if the Mind Crush didn't improve his demeanor any," Seto continued, "so I thought I should warn you."

"Thanks, Kaiba," Yugi said. "But . . . um . . . we're learning some other things that might tie in with this. You and Mokuba should probably come over and hear it."

"Oh great. Now what?" Seto said in dismay.

"Let's just say that Yami Bakura isn't the only encounter we've had with that other world in the last twelve hours," Yugi said. "I'm going to start calling everyone else. We all need to decide what we're going to do about this."

"Ugh. Fine. We'll be over," Seto said, and hung up.

Yugi put down the phone with a deeply furrowed brow. "The other Yami Bakura is out of the coma," he announced. "He's escaped."

"No!" Nesbitt had gone stiff. "If he really wants to turn his life around, would he do that?"

"I don't know," Atem said grimly. "He might."

"Or he might want to put all of us through another living Hell," Nesbitt said. "What he did to us before . . . that was what caused me to snap so badly that I started seriously hurting Lector with my words. . . ."

Lector gripped his shoulder. "You're not going to let that happen again," he insisted. "You've been actively improving yourself, and don't you forget it! He won't be able to destroy that."

Nesbitt didn't look convinced.

"So what're we gonna do?!" Crump yelped.

"We have to stay calm," Gansley sternly told him. "Losing control won't be helpful at all."

"And I'm going to start calling everyone." Yugi grabbed the phone again. "We need to have a meeting, and now they all need to be warned, too."

xxxx

No one was particularly pleased to be called so early about an urgent meeting, and they were even less pleased to be told of the alternate Yami Bakura's revival and escape. Yami Bakura was especially irritated.

"I knew it would happen someday," he growled at Bakura as they headed out to the van. "Of course it would happen right when other things are going wrong as well!"

"Why do you think he woke up right now?" Bakura wondered. He climbed into the passenger side while holding Oreo the cat with one arm. He certainly wasn't about to leave her behind when they didn't know if the alternate Yami Bakura—the one they had called the Game Master—was still a threat.

"I don't know that all of this Purple Avenger nonsense and the portal has anything to do with it," Yami Bakura said. He started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

"So you think it's just a bizarre coincidence?" Bakura asked. He remained tense, staring out the windows at the overcast autumn sky as he desperately looked for any trace of their nemesis. Oreo looked too, and meowed.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Yami Bakura said. "After all, if there was a connection, why wouldn't it have happened the first time that alternate Lector came over? Of course, on the other hand . . ." His eyes narrowed. "Magic is a very tricky thing, as we all well know. It took ages to close up the portal to the Duel Monsters' dimension the last time it popped open."

". . . What if when we finally did get it closed, the other portal . . . er . . . popped open in its place?" Bakura suggested.

Yami Bakura grunted. "You mean perhaps the vacuum in the space-time continuum built up a great deal of energy once the portal was closed off, and it blew open another portal to release the pent-up energy?"

"Something like that," Bakura said. "I know it sounds inane, but . . ."

"Right now, I don't know what's inane," Yami Bakura shot back. "It's just as plausible as any other explanation we could come up with."

Bakura shifted. "Are you planning to go over to the other world, Yami?"

"I don't know," Yami Bakura frowned. "I don't particularly want to, but I might not have a great deal of choice in the matter."

"And Yugi said the Big Five are hoping the alternate Big Four are still alive and can be brought back to their Lector," Bakura said. "Do you think there's any chance of that?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Yami Bakura grunted. "But things won't always work out happily, no matter how much we wish it so."

". . . Then you think they really are dead?" Bakura's eyes flickered with sadness.

"Not necessarily," Yami Bakura said. "That demon could have decided to keep them alive and torture them, while delighting in their Lector believing them dead."

"How horrible!" Bakura's eyes flashed with outrage. "Yes, he would definitely be capable of something like that!"

Oreo growled in agreement.

xxxx

By the time the entire group was gathering together, it was getting so large that meeting at the Turtle Game Shop was simply not practical or even physically possible. Duke quickly offered the Black Crown instead, and everyone agreed—Tristan reluctantly, of course.

"Did you let Lumis and Umbra know?" Joey wondered, more out of curiosity than concern. He didn't think they would be in danger.

"I did," Duke nodded. "They're worried, but they're coming."

"I wonder if they exist in that other world," Joey mused, "and what they're like."

Marik had other things on his mind. "Well, we need to decide what we're going to do," he said urgently. "How many are going over there, and who?"

"We know so little about that other world," Atem frowned, "and even less if it isn't the world the Game Master is from."

"And everything he told us about his world sounded really messed-up," Tristan scowled.

"Well, we have to go over anyway," Téa insisted. "And we need to do more than try to find a way to save the Big Four. Evangeline's in a lot of trouble too!"

"And if we could get the Mokuba over there to realize that Leichter was telling the truth, maybe he'd at least have one friend," Mokuba said. He was badly shaken by the story the Big Five had told about the alternate Lector. To be so all alone sounded horrible in any case, and when Mokuba loved their world's Lector so dearly, he hated to think of the other one being so sad.

"I don't know if it's possible to get him to realize," Lector said. "I'm definitely concerned about the other Evangeline too. If she's locked in the house, that's going to do a lot of damage to her."

"So we're all going, right?" Crump piped up.

"Probably," Gansley grunted, "but we'll need to be careful. I would suggest using trenchcoats and fedora hats to hide all our identities," he said with heavy sarcasm, "but that kind of get-up likely only makes people more interested and curious than ever."

"Perhaps being open would be the best option for all of you," Atem said. "It might help generate trust from those in that world."

"Or they might not even be willing to listen or to believe us at all," Nesbitt growled.

"I don't want Mokuba to go over there," Seto declared, to no one's surprise.

Mokuba wasn't pleased, however. "But Seto!" he exclaimed. "I might have the best chance of convincing some of the others that Leichter was telling the truth and that our Big Five aren't dangerous! They're probably gonna need all the help they can get!"

"We don't want you to put yourself in a possibly dangerous situation, Mokuba," Lector quickly interjected. "We'll manage."

"Come on," Joey snorted. "Don't these guys believe in second chances over there? If they forgave Kaiba and Mokuba for all the garbage the Game Master said they pulled, then they've gotta be willing to forgive the Big Five and give them another chance!"

Yugi nodded. "I think we should be able to explain things so they understand."

Mokuba frowned. "But . . . I want to help. . . ."

"At least wait until we see what it's really like over there," Yugi implored. "But it'll be up to your brother whether you can go."

Seto nodded. "I'd rather we didn't have to be involved at all," he growled. "But I know we probably will be."

The doors flew open as Lumis and Umbra hurried inside. "Have you decided anything yet?" Umbra asked.

"Is there really an alternate world?!" Lumis gasped.

"Yeah. They're figuring out who's going to go over now," Duke said, twirling a piece of hair around his finger.

"I say it would be better not to overwhelm them," Atem said. "How about Yugi and I go, along with the Big Five? The rest of you stay here and wait for news."

"Not to mention the Game Master," Yami Bakura grunted.

"And if he doesn't come here, he'll probably try to go back to his home," Téa worried.

"He didn't know anything of the portal back then," Yami Bakura mused, "so he very likely still doesn't know how to get home. In which case he might come all the more to see what his old enemies in this realm are doing."

"And we'll be ready for him," Solomon declared.

"He stole a great deal of power from that fiend," Yami Bakura warned, "enough to trap us all in that abominable Shadow Game and to generate a solid body for himself. There's no telling what else he's capable of."

"That's . . . a good point," Solomon had to admit.

"Be careful, you guys," Téa said worriedly to those who had determined to leave. "We'll hold things down here, I promise."

Yugi smiled. "I know you will."

"Hopefully we'll be able to keep in touch with our phones," Atem said, "but I don't know if there will be dimension to dimension phone service."

"Just try your best," Téa said. "And try not to be gone long."

"Man, I wish we were going with you, Yug," Joey frowned. "Maybe we should . . ."

"I think it would be better to have a smaller group," Gansley said. "But if we're not back in a couple of hours and you can't reach us, perhaps someone else should go in then."

That was quickly agreed to and the Big Five set out again, this time with Yugi and Atem in tow.

"I hope they'll be okay," Téa whispered. "And . . . I hope _we'll_ be okay too. . . ."

". . . We all hope that," Seto said.

Joey looked to him in surprise. He hadn't expected Seto to say anything comforting or vulnerable to anyone other than possibly Mokuba. But it was nice. And it was certainly true.

xxxx

Nesbitt was the only one who had seen any piece of the other world. When they reached the portal and all stepped through, it was a deep shock.

"Oh no," Yugi gasped. He stared at the view from the hill. "Leichter really wasn't exaggerating about the damage Yami Marik and that being he teamed up with caused!"

Atem's eyes narrowed as he studied the Domino City skyline. Some buildings were partially or completely demolished. Some had only suffered abuse to the windows or the edifice.

"At least the Kaiba Corporation building is still standing," he remarked.

"Most likely thanks to the other Big Five's sacrifices," Gansley said.

"Who do you think we should try to find to talk to?" Yugi wondered. The others were starting down the hill to walk to the city, and he hurried to keep pace.

"I still think talking to the other you would be our best bet," Atem mused. "I hate to sadden him with the knowledge that I am not the Atem who was with him, but on the other hand, it may give him hope that his Atem could return in the future. And in any case, he would likely be the most open-minded, if he is anything like you, Yugi."

Yugi smiled a bit. "Okay then. We'll try to head for the Turtle Game Shop. Gosh, I hope it's still standing. . . ." He shuddered. "Yami Marik might have gone after it first."

No one could deny that sounded like a distinct possibility.

"What the heck do you think he teamed up with?" Crump exclaimed. "A renegade Blue Eyes White Dragon?!"

"We'll have to ask the other Yugi for the details on that," Atem said. "Especially since there is always the possibility that it will happen in our world someday as well."

"Hey! Yugi?! What do you think you're doing?!"

Everyone jumped. To their definite alarm, they were looking at this world's Mokuba. He was standing and staring them down, his eyes angry and fearful all at once. Though he seemed to be alone, in a moment Ryou Bakura ran up as well.

"Hi, Yugi!" he greeted. "What's going on?! Is this some new kind of game?! How are all of the Big Five here? And . . . oh my goodness. . . ." He fell back, just staring at Atem. "You . . . you can't be . . . the Pharaoh. . . ."

"Hello, both of you," Atem said, looking from Ryou to Mokuba. "I am the Pharaoh, but I'm afraid nothing is quite as it seems here. . . ."

"Is this one of my brother's new holographic projections?" the alternate Mokuba interrupted. "I know he's working with a project to bring all the Duelists to life in an augmented reality simulation, but I can't imagine he'd choose these losers to make likenesses of." He glowered at the Big Five.

"Um . . . Mokuba . . ." Yugi scratched the back of his head. "I know this is probably going to sound hard to believe, but . . . we're from a parallel world. There's a portal connecting our dimensions just up the hill back there."

The alternate Mokuba snorted. "That's a good one. Only . . ." He frowned and wavered. "I know Seto would never make one of his holograms say something like that. . . ."

"He certainly wouldn't," Lector spoke up. "It's all true, Mokuba. In our world . . . none of us have died. Although we would like to believe none of our counterparts are dead here either. We wanted to come over here and investigate and see if we could save them."

"You creep!" the alternate Mokuba spat. "Even if you are from another world, why is Yugi helping you?! I know you like to forgive everybody, Yugi, but the Big Five?!"

"They've changed, Mokuba," Yugi said softly.

"And the alternate me was telling the truth when he told you that he and his friends weren't working with Yami Marik," Lector said. "They really were trying to save you and Mr. Kaiba." He bent down to be at this Mokuba's eye level, hoping that might set him more at ease.

Instead, the alternate Mokuba felt more cornered than ever. "No!" He shoved Lector back and ran over to Ryou. "I don't like any of this. Let's go!"

Ryou bit his lip. "Yugi . . . this is really all true?"

"It really is," Yugi said. "And . . . um . . . I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but . . . have you seen the spirit of the Millennium Ring lately?"

Ryou blanched. "He's gone," he choked out. "He's finally gone! Don't talk to me about him! I don't want anything to do with him!"

"No one can blame you," Atem said. "But you need to know—several months ago, the Yami Bakura from this world fell into our world and began torturing us. I finally put him into a Mind Crush, and he has been in a coma for the last several months. Last night he awoke and left the medical center. It's possible he came back here."

"No!" Ryou grabbed the alternate Mokuba's hand and started to back up. "He can't be back! This can't be real! None of it can be real!"

Crump cringed. "This . . . could be going better."

"On the other hand, is there really any good way to say what we've been saying?" Johnson countered.

"I don't trust you!" the alternate Mokuba spat. "I'm going to tell Seto about you, and he'll make sure all of you get kicked back through that portal where you belong!"

"Even me, Mokuba?" Atem asked.

"If you're from some other dimension, you're not the Pharaoh my brother still wants to duel again," was the retort. "But maybe he'd want to beat you too. I'll make sure to let him know about you." The alternate Mokuba pulled out a Smartphone and snapped a picture of all of the visitors together.

Lector had to admit he was shaken, but not so much because of this Mokuba's attitude as because of the reason behind it. "What did we do in this world, Mokuba?" he had to ask. Was it possibly worse than what they had done in their world?

"Did we do worse than trying to snatch KaibaCorp when Pegasus ruined the company's reputation and came to us?" Crump exclaimed.

"Isn't that bad enough, you bunch of back-stabbing . . . -?!" The alternate Mokuba called all of them a vulgar name.

Lector's patience snapped. "You watch your mouth!" he scolded. "You have every right to be angry with being betrayed, but there is never a good reason to talk like that!"

"You think I really care what you think?" the alternate Mokuba spat. "Seto fired all of you and I thought we'd never have to see you again. But then we did when you teamed up with Yami Marik to try to kill us!"

"No, Mokuba."

The group looked up with a start. The Lector of this world was approaching. He didn't seem surprised at all to see the Big Five back again, or with Yugi and Atem. But he seemed sad, desperate, longing to be believed even though he knew it was pointless, and longing to get the Big Five out of this new trouble.

"We really did try to save you and your brother," Leichter said. "Then Yami Marik was furious that we were ruining his 'fun,' especially after he had given us a chance to join with him and we refused. He tried to kill us all, and . . ." His voice wavered. "The others all pushed me away from the center of the blast. . . ."

"Shut up!" the alternate Mokuba snapped, but now he was wavering a little too. Even though he was still wary, he couldn't deny that his heart was pierced, even just a bit, by Leichter's heartbroken tone. It had always affected him when Leichter had told him about why the others were dead, but he had tried to make himself believe it didn't.

"I know it must be difficult to accept this story, especially when you're still hurting and fearing you can't trust them," Atem said. "You have every right not to trust them, and I believe they would be the first to tell you that."

Nesbitt had to nod in agreement with that. "Yes. . . ."

"But will anyone take a chance?" Atem continued. "Both on this story and on ours as well?"

"I will," came a new and yet a familiar voice.

Again everyone looked up. Another Yugi was standing there, staring at the group with tears in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

"Atem," he whispered. "Even though you're not the you who was with me, you're still an Atem. And I'm so happy to see you again."

He ran forward, pulling Atem into a firm embrace.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

It was more than a little strange to have the Big Five in the Turtle Game Shop. Not just that, but two Lectors. But the alternate Yugi and Solomon were extremely attentive to everything their guests told, as were their Joey, Tristan, Téa, and Duke. Ryou was also at rapt attention, albeit horrified to learn of what his Yami Bakura had done in this other world. The alternate Mokuba stayed away from the group, glaring at the wall with folded arms. Although he heard every word, he did not allow himself to look or seem impressed.

"This is crazy!" the alternate Joey exclaimed. "There's really other worlds with other copies of us in them?!"

"Even other Joeys?" the alternate Tristan said with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, we have one of each of you back home," Yugi chuckled.

"That's just bizarre," the alternate Duke grunted.

"And this story you're telling . . . it's awful," Ryou said. "I am really sorry about everything my Yami caused for you." He gripped a handful of carpet. "I wanted a friend, but instead I got a nightmare. I thought it was finally over, but I guess something like this never goes away."

"Bakura . . ." The alternate Téa looked to him, biting her lip.

"And what you've told us about our Big Five . . ." The alternate Yugi looked sad. "Leichter tried to tell all of us what happened and we weren't sure what to believe. I wanted to believe him, though."

"I didn't," the alternate Joey said.

"And what real guarantee do we have that it actually is the truth?" the alternate Tristan asked. "You're just trusting him when it might not be a good idea at all!"

"There's no lie in his eyes," Nesbitt growled.

"Oh, well, coming from you, that makes me feel real better," the alternate Tristan retorted.

Lector found that exchange ironic, given that this Tristan didn't even have the particularly antagonistic relationship with Nesbitt that he had had in virtual reality.

"I trust them," Yugi said, "and so does Atem. Even though we're not from your world, are you willing to trust us?"

"I am," the alternate Téa said.

"Me too," said the alternate Yugi.

"But maybe you're still being deceived," the alternate Duke said. "I'm sorry, but it's going to take more than this to convince some of us."

"Why?!" Nesbitt found himself bursting out. "You forgave and trusted others. What makes this other Big Five so much different, especially when they haven't even done some of the things we did?!"

Gansley cringed. He had hoped to not have to bring up the virtual reality experiences, but now they might have to, and that might make it even harder to win trust.

The alternate Mokuba whipped around. "What did you do?!" he spat.

"That's not really important right now," Atem quickly cut in. "Nesbitt does make a legitimate point, especially if you have forgiven and extended trust to Marik, Rishid, and the Kaiba brothers. Surely their actions were worse."

The alternate Yugi looked down. "Well . . . it's not just a matter of believing Leichter," he finally admitted. "It's also a matter of not believing the security cameras around town that showed them conspiring with Yami Marik."

Yugi rocked back, stunned. "Huh?!"

The alternate Mokuba turned back. "That's right, other Yugi. That's why I know that anything this guy says is a lie!" He peppered his statement with expletives.

Lector was too shocked by this latest revelation to even scold the boy at the moment. "What is this?" he exclaimed.

"I don't know how that footage got on the cameras, because it didn't happen!" Leichter cried. He sank back, rubbing his forehead. "But I know it's too much to ask to be believed in the face of that evidence." He looked and sounded defeated.

The Big Five exchanged stunned looks with Yugi and Atem.

"Actually, there is a way," Atem said at last. "In our world, Yami Marik made us all believe the Big Five did things they didn't actually do. He manipulated all of our memories so that we would remember things differently. We've only barely regained our real memories of that time."

"The most outrageous thing was making us all believe that poor Nesbitt tried to burn down a warehouse with several people in it," Lector said darkly. "In reality, he couldn't do it even under Yami Marik's control, so Yami Marik came out and did it himself!"

The alternate Téa gasped. "Really?!"

Yugi nodded. "Who's to say he didn't do the same thing here and put fake images on the cameras to deliberately implicate your Big Five?"

The alternate Joey looked sick. "Oh man."

The alternate Mokuba didn't look impressed. "Yeah right."

The alternate Yugi, however, was shaken. "That's horrible," he gasped. "None of us ever considered something like this."

"None of us did either, until our rightful memories came back," Atem said.

Leichter sat up straight again. "That has to be it!" he exclaimed. "None of us would even consider working with Yami Marik when he came to us! He must have planted that footage as revenge so we would never be believed, even when we tried to help the Kaiba brothers!"

The alternate Yugi blinked back tears. "I am so sorry," he said softly, badly stricken. "You've been going through so much pain as it is and then we added to it when we wouldn't and couldn't believe you."

Leichter sighed, tiredly. "How can I blame you under the circumstances? We weren't trusted as it was, and then for there to be footage I couldn't explain that condemned all of us. . . ." He looked to the visitors. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the footage. I was afraid you would all turn against me too. I had no idea you'd be coming over here, and . . . well, I wanted you to think well of me, especially when my own dear friends are gone and you are the closest things I have to them now."

"We understand," Gansley said. "But we would have believed you."

"Of course we would have!" Crump said.

A small smile tugged on Leichter's lips.

The alternate Yugi sighed, still feeling horrible about falling for Yami Marik's manipulations. "What is it you hope we can do?" he asked. "If there's anything at all . . ." He shook his head. "I really want to try to make this up to you any way I can."

"We want to know if there is any chance that your Lector's loved ones are still alive, perhaps trapped in some other dimension," Gansley said. They hadn't wanted to let Leichter know what they were thinking and get his hopes up if there was no hope, but since he had decided to accompany them Gansley didn't see how they could speak without him there.

Leichter's eyes widened in shock. "I told you, there's no way that could be true," he protested.

"Hey, let us be the judges of that, okay?" Crump said. "Or the other Yugi here."

The alternate Yugi looked down. "I really don't see how it could be true," he said softly. "They weren't restored when I sealed Yami Marik away again, so it couldn't have been a magical death. . . ."

"But what if it wasn't a death at all?!" Nesbitt retorted. "What if they were immediately sent to some other dimension? I don't mean the Shadow Realm, or the Darkness, or whatever you call it here. What if Yami Marik had access to some other dimension where he could put people?"

Leichter hesitated. ". . . I never did find their bodies," he admitted. "I thought they'd been vaporized. . . ."

"And maybe they weren't!" Nesbitt pressed.

Atem looked to the alternate Yugi. "What did you use to seal Yami Marik away?"

"Well . . ." The alternate Yugi looked around, hesitant, but finally reached under his shirt and pulled out the Infinity Ring.

"Seriously?!" Crump exclaimed.

"Shadi gave this to me to use," the alternate Yugi explained, "but he said I'm not the destined user and I can't unlock its full power. It was enough for a temporary seal, but to make it more permanent, the chosen user has to wield it and unlock all of its powers." He studied the group. "Am I right that you've seen this in your world?"

Yugi shifted. "We sure have. . . ."

"And we know who the destined user is there," Crump added. "But maybe it's different here or something. . . . I don't see how it could be the same here. . . ."

"Well, who on Earth is it?!" the alternate Solomon exclaimed. "Don't keep us in suspense!"

Yugi looked worriedly to Ryou before speaking. ". . . In our world, it's Yami Bakura."

Dead silence.

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Joey suddenly boomed. "There's no way!"

Ryou was sheet-white. ". . . He's a hero in your world?"

"Well . . ." Yugi rubbed the back of his head. "He is now, but it's taken him a long time to get to that point. . . ."

"Yours seems far more twisted," Atem said.

Ryou looked away. "I used to hope he would be a hero," he said quietly. "Sometimes he would lie and tell me he wanted to help, so I would give him permission to do what he needed to do."

"You _let_ him possess you?!" the alternate Tristan cried in disbelief.

"Only sometimes," Ryou exclaimed. "I had wondered if tearing free of Zorc would bring him back to himself and he would be a better person, but it sounds like he's terrible even without Zorc."

"Our Yami Bakura is a character, there's no denying that," Atem said. "It took him a long time to start healing from the damage Zorc did to him, and to start figuring out who he was without Zorc's influence. He's still . . . very unique."

"But you trust him to use this thingie without hurting anybody?!" The alternate Joey snatched the Infinity Ring from his Yugi and waved it in the air.

"Yes," Yugi said. "We really do. We would have been in a lot of horrible messes if he hadn't been there."

"There's no way the Yami Bakura here could be meant to use that thing," the alternate Tristan growled. "It's just not possible."

"I have to agree with him," Nesbitt said.

Lector had something else on his mind. "The Infinity Ring can serve as a compass. Could you try using yours to find out if the Big Four here might still be alive?"

The alternate Yugi looked hesitant, but he reached to take it from Joey. "I can try," he said slowly, "but there's no guarantee I'll even be able to get it to work."

"Yours glitches too, huh?" Crump said.

"It sure does," the alternate Yugi sighed. "I'm amazed it even worked long enough to seal Yami Marik and Zorc away."

Another dead silence.

"Yami Marik and _what?!_" Atem exclaimed.

"Zorc," the alternate Yugi repeated. "We thought he was gone for good, but he said that because the darkness in human hearts created him, he can't ever be destroyed until the day humans have no more darkness in them. All that can be done is to seal him away when he comes back. But depending on the strength of the spell, he can be sealed for a really long time." He looked down. "I guess we were lucky that he was still pretty weak. I'm sure I couldn't have done anything if he was at his full strength, not with the way this Ring is acting."

Yugi went sheet-white. "Oh my gosh," he gasped. "If that's true in this world, it must be true in ours too. And if Yami Marik joins forces with Zorc in our world . . ."

"Then we're all doomed?" Crump gulped.

"Then . . . maybe that's the battle Shadi has been saving Yami Bakura for," Yugi said. "I mean . . . who would know Zorc better than someone who was unwillingly fused with his spirit for three thousand years?!"

A hush fell over the group.

"I never thought of that," Atem admitted. "And what would be the final irony but for the one who tried to bring Zorc into the real world before to have to face him and seal him away?"

"It's kind of poetic justice too," Yugi said.

The alternate Yugi looked stunned. "I never thought there was a chance your world might face this same problem. But . . . if you're right, then it sounds like Yami Bakura would be supposed to use this Ring here too. . . ."

Ryou shook his head. "That's impossible here. He would never do it."

"There's also this little fact that we're also protectors of the world," Crump said.

Leichter looked to him with a jerk. "What?!"

Lector held out his hand with the amethyst ring. "Shadi gave each of us and Mr. Kaiba an elemental ring that will only activate in situations that threaten the entire world." He swallowed hard. "I suppose that means we'll be playing a part in this battle when it comes to our world too. But . . ." His eyes widened. "What if that also means you're supposed to do the same thing here?"

Nesbitt stiffened at the realization. "You wouldn't be able to inherit the rings if most of you are dead."

"Then . . . maybe there really is hope?!" Leichter gasped.

"It's sure worth a try to find out!" The alternate Yugi stood, holding up the Infinity Ring. "Okay, Ring. Show us if the Big Four are still alive, and where we can find them!"

A beam shot out from the Infinity Ring and spun wildly through the room before pointing out the window and into the sky. Everyone ran over to look.

"Okay, so what does that mean?!" Crump exclaimed.

"It looks more like it's saying they're in that big office building in the sky," the alternate Joey said.

"Oh, that was really sensitive," the alternate Téa scowled, nodding in Leichter's direction.

"Well, maybe it means something else," the alternate Yugi said. "And if it does, we're going to find out what!" He looked to Leichter. "I promise you, if your friends are still out there, we're going to get them back!"

"Thank you," Leichter whispered.

"And if you guys help save the world, maybe that'll give you enough good press to get some help for Evangeline," Crump blurted.

"It's most certainly a pleasant thought," Leichter said. "I wouldn't want any news coverage of such a thing under normal circumstances, as I am not trying to be a hero and don't want to be honored as one, but if it would help me free my sister, I would welcome it."

Yugi dared to glance at the alternate Mokuba. He had come over with the group to look at the Infinity Ring's beam, but he was silent again, his hands shoved in his pockets.

Yugi frowned to himself. He wanted to try talking to this Mokuba, but without everyone else around. Maybe if it was just the two of them, he could get the boy to open up. He was certainly a lot different from the Mokuba Yugi knew, and yet Yugi did see glimpses of some similarities, as the alternate Yami Bakura had observed months earlier. In any case, Yugi wanted to help get past the bitterness and distrust to the clearly hurting child underneath. Had he really never liked Leichter, as the man believed? Or had he liked Leichter a lot and that had made his betrayal that much worse, as had been the case with the Mokuba from Yugi's world?

In any case, Yugi felt that in the absence of such antics as the virtual reality problems from his world, what upset this Mokuba the most was the belief that his Big Five had been trying to kill him and his Seto. Somehow or another, Yugi hoped he could help the boy to believe the truth. Leichter needed a friend in his world, and this Mokuba deserved to have the burden of his dark feelings relieved.

xxxx

Back through the portal, the rest of the group waited anxiously at the Black Crown Game Emporium.

"How long has it been already?!" Joey demanded.

"Five minutes later than the last time you asked," Tristan retorted.

"I'm worried, okay?!" Joey shot back. "We should have gone with them!"

"So you could blow your stack and maybe immediately get everyone in trouble?" Mai sighed. "They already had one hothead with them."

"Two, if Lector loses it too," Duke muttered.

Téa looked at her watch. "It hasn't been two hours yet, guys. . . ." She shifted. "And that other Yami Bakura hasn't shown up here either. . . ."

Yami Bakura growled. He wanted to say that was good, but on the other hand, what mischief might he be getting into elsewhere?

The sound of a heavy box dropping startled all of them. Oreo flinched.

"Not to worry! I just lost control of it," Lumis exclaimed. He had been bringing a large box out of the storeroom. He and Umbra were trying to work to get their minds on something other than the disasters afoot. The rest of the group had caught them up to speed about the alternate Yami Bakura and now they were terrified of his arrival along with everyone else.

Serenity looked around worriedly. "To think, yesterday all we had to worry about was wondering about that vigilante," she said.

"Who'd ever think he'd be Lector from another world?" Tristan frowned.

"And our Lector has been going out as him too," Téa said. "When things settle down, they'll have to start thinking about that again. . . ."

"Maybe that other Lector, or even Yami Marik, was casting a spell on him," Joey growled.

"I don't think the other Lector would," Serenity said. "He sounded so sad from what they said."

"Ours probably did just crack under the strain," Mai said quietly. "There finally comes a time when you just can't take it anymore."

"I hope the others can help him," Serenity said.

"I hope so too," Mai said. She looked away. "If I had just felt that I could go home to my friends after Battle City, I probably never would have fallen prey to Dartz." She gripped her arms.

Joey sobered. "I just wish I'd realized you were so unhappy, Mai. At least Lector's buddies know he's hurtin'."

"Yeah, but do they know how much?" Mai countered. "I don't think Lector himself knows that. All of them were surprised by him going around as this vigilante character."

"Maybe none of them know how much," Joey agreed, "but since they know something's not right, they'll keep checking with him. That's gotta do some good!"

Mai finally smiled. "You're right, Joey. I'm sure it will. Even if it takes Lector a while to be able to heal, he'll have a chance."

". . . Have _you_ been able to heal, Mai?" Joey asked.

Mai sighed. "In some ways. I still feel horrible about everything I did because of the Orichalcos's poison. I don't know if I ever will get over that. I can tell myself until I'm blue in the face that I never would have done any of those things in my right mind, but on the worst days it's only marginally helpful."

Joey gripped the wall with one hand. "I wish I could make it all better for you. I _do_ know how you feel, at least a little bit. Sometimes I still have a hard time with the memories of being mind-controlled. The things I said . . ."

"At least you _were_ mind-controlled," Mai said. "With me, it was more like I was brainwashed or corrupted. It was really me talking and doing those things, even though the Orichalcos was influencing me."

"Oh, what a pity it is."

Everyone looked up with a jerk. The alternate Yami Bakura—the Game Master—was walking through the electronic doors and regarding all of them with an unreadable expression.

Lumis shrieked and another box crashed to the floor. "It's him!"

"That better not have been anything breakable!" Umbra exclaimed. Nevertheless, he was worried too. He grabbed Lumis by the shoulders, protectively pulling the little man back against him.

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. "What do you want?"

The Game Master looked at him. "Look at you, still looking out for everybody like a good little Boy Scout," he sneered.

"Do _not_ underestimate me," Yami Bakura growled. "You will sorely regret it." He sneered back. "This good little Boy Scout isn't always so good."

"You know, you've been in a coma for months," Bakura remarked. "Hasn't it helped your demeanor any?"

The Game Master growled now, his gaze darting back and forth among those gathered. "Some of you are missing," he mused. "Why?"

"Like you think we'll tell you?" Joey snapped.

"You still haven't told us what you want," Tristan said, folding his arms.

The Game Master still didn't respond. Again he looked over the group.

Deciding to take a chance, Téa walked out in front. "You don't know what you want, do you?"

"Téa!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Get back!"

The Game Master started, turning to look at Téa. Whether he intended it or not, he had a definite deer in the headlights expression.

"You finally realize you're not Zorc," Téa continued, "but you're still not sure who you really are."

Bakura blinked in surprise. "Is that true?" he asked.

"Shut up, Landlord," the Game Master muttered. He turned, vanishing back through the doors and onto the street.

". . . Okay. I'm going to file that under 'I don't know whether this is good or bad,'" Joey said after a moment of surprised silence.

"I don't think we should let him get away," Bakura said. "Just because he doesn't act like a threat right now doesn't mean he really isn't."

"I'll go after him," Yami Bakura grunted. "He's another me, so I should know better than anyone what he might do or how to keep him in sight without him realizing he's under surveillance. Actually, he probably knows someone will follow him. And he probably suspects it will be me."

"Maybe you shouldn't go alone, Yami," Bakura said in concern.

"It would be easier for me to be stealthy with him if I'm alone," Yami Bakura replied. "But someone should try contacting Yugi and letting him know about the visit."

Téa nodded and took out her phone. "I'll do it. Be careful. . . ."

Yami Bakura silently slipped out the doors.

Everyone was stunned when Téa's phone call actually started to ring.

"It's goin' through?!" Joey exclaimed.

"Maybe," Téa said, not willing to believe it until someone answered.

In a moment, someone did. "Hello?"

"Yugi!" Téa cried. "What's going on over there?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but we've made some friends and we're trying to find out what really happened to the alternate Big Four," Yugi said. "Actually, I just got an idea. Maybe that book of magical artifacts we took from Dr. Raven would tell something helpful, like an object that can open and close other dimensions or something."

"That's a great idea!" Téa exclaimed. "Is it still at Gansley's house?"

"Yes," Gansley said in the background. "It's in the study, where you saw it last time."

"Do you think you could go there and look through it?" Yugi asked.

"Sure!" Téa said. "I'd be happy to help. And Yugi? The alternate Yami Bakura was just here."

"What?!" Yugi gasped. "What happened?!"

"He came in and kind of mocked our Mai and Yami Bakura, but then he just stood around and didn't really do anything. Finally he just turned and walked out again. Yami Bakura decided to follow him." Téa sighed. "We'd like to believe he doesn't want to hurt us now, but we're really not sure at all."

"Yeah. With him, it's really hard to say," Yugi said. "Actually, Téa, a whole lot more happened than what I said, but I don't like to talk about all of it on the phone. After we save the other Big Four—if they _can_ be saved—I'm hoping we can all come back over and talk about what we found out. I'm afraid it could affect us in the future."

"Oh. That doesn't sound good," Téa said in concern.

"It sure isn't," Yugi said.

"Well, I'll get over to Gansley's house and look at that book," Téa said.

"You should probably go with somebody," Yugi said.

"Not much point hanging around here," Joey said, leaning into Téa's phone. "A lot of us will probably go, Yug."

"That's great, Joey. Just let me know if you find out anything," Yugi said. "We might have to go on some big search to find an artifact, either in this world or ours."

"Oh boy," Téa groaned. "We'll hurry as quick as possible, Yugi. I promise."

"That's great, Téa. I'll . . ." The phone suddenly filled with static.

"Yugi?!" Téa cried. "Yugi, are you still there?!"

The phone went dead.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Yugi sighed and cringed as the phone connection faded into static and then vanished altogether. Well, it had been a gamble to try talking across dimensions at all, and he was really quite amazed it had actually worked at all.

"Phone died?" Crump asked.

"Yeah," Yugi sighed. "And since the connection might not come back, we should probably just go back to our world to see what Téa comes up with in the book."

"Works for me," Crump said.

Yugi hesitated. "Before we go, though . . ." He went over to his counterpart. "I'd like to talk to Mokuba alone for a few minutes," he whispered. "Is there any place where we could do that?"

The alternate Yugi blinked in surprise but nodded. "Sure. My room. Just . . . don't let Mokuba see under the bed. . . ."

That seemed an odd request, but Yugi nodded too. "Uh . . . okay. Sure." He smiled at the other him. "Thanks."

The alternate Mokuba looked up warily as Yugi came over to him. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Just to talk," Yugi said, and smiled at him too. "Is that okay?"

A shrug. "Whatever."

Yugi took him down the hall and into the familiar room. As he stepped inside, he caught sight of what was clearly a dirty magazine peeking out from under the bed. Red flamed his cheeks and he quickly pushed it farther under with his shoe. Well, that was certainly a difference in their personalities.

"So what do you want to talk about?" the alternate Mokuba asked. "How oppressed the poor Big Five are and how I should be nice to Leichter?"

Yugi shut the door. "I don't think we need to talk about that," he said. "What I want to know is, what was yours and Seto's relationship with Leichter?"

"What?" the alternate Mokuba snorted.

"I mean, did he look after you guys, or was he just an impersonal employee of your step-dad's?" Yugi elaborated.

The alternate Mokuba looked away. "He kind of looked after us sometimes. I gave him a hard time. And the more Gozaburo tortured Seto, the more Seto gave Leichter a hard time too."

"Did Leichter know what was going on?" Yugi asked.

The alternate Mokuba frowned. "He said he didn't. He actually acted pretty upset, even horrified, when he 'found out.' But . . . I don't know . . . I didn't believe him. He was Gozaburo's right-hand man! How could he not have known?!"

"Maybe Gozaburo wanted to make himself look like a better person around Leichter," Yugi said. "If Leichter really had higher morals than him, Gozaburo could've been worried about what would happen if Leichter found out the truth."

"Yeah, I guess." The boy gripped the dresser behind him with both hands and restlessly leaned against it as he looked across the room. For a long moment he was silent, and so was Yugi. Somehow he sensed the boy had more he wanted to say, once he gathered enough courage to say it. Then Yugi's patience was rewarded.

". . . He never really wanted anything to happen to Seto," the alternate Mokuba admitted. "The Big Five hated the whole Death-T thing. . . . Seto just did that on his own, even though they voted against it. And then after that, they thought Seto was never going to come out of the coma he was in. And then Pegasus ruined the company's reputation and everything and told them they had to join with him to help the company. . . . That was all why they joined up with him. . . . And Leichter didn't want me hurt, even though I never treated him very nice. He kept telling Pegasus and his men to be careful and not to hurt me. When he found out Pegasus had actually taken my soul, he was furious."

"He sounds a lot like our Lector," Yugi said. "He's a really good guy. He wishes all the time that he had known about Gozaburo's abuse and could have adopted our Seto and Mokuba before it got really bad."

"He's kind of a wet blanket," the alternate Mokuba said. "Always chewing me out for not being respectful. . . . Who cares about that these days?!"

"Maybe more people should," Yugi gently prompted.

"Your Lector chewed me out too." The alternate Mokuba still wasn't facing Yugi. "If Yami Marik really did put all that junk on the cameras . . . and . . . if Leichter really lost his friends because they were trying to save me and Seto. . . ." He shuddered. "I guess I should be nicer to him, huh?"

"I think so," Yugi said. "He's really hurting a lot. He could use a friend."

"I'm not the kind of friend he would need or want."

"You could be," Yugi replied. "You're your own person, but I see glimpses of our Mokuba in you. He's loyal and protective and loves a lot. I think you could be that way for Leichter, if you could let go of your pride and your bitterness enough to really see who he is. And . . . I really think you want to, especially now."

The alternate Mokuba finally nodded. "Yeah . . . I kind of do."

Yugi smiled at him. "Then I'm sure you'll make good on that." He opened the door. "Let's go back to the others, okay?"

The alternate Mokuba pushed away from the dresser and followed him.

The Big Five and Atem were more than ready to leave when they came back. Yugi smiled at his other self. "Thanks a lot," he said sincerely. "We'll go now, and hopefully soon we'll have some more news for you."

"Thank you," Leichter said. "How I pray something will work out."

Yugi saw the alternate Mokuba approaching him as they all said their Goodbyes and started down the stairs. "Leichter, I . . ." The boy shifted and couldn't meet his eyes. This was hard for him, but he wanted to do it. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened and not believing you and everything," he finally blurted.

"Did Yugi put you up to this?" Leichter asked, looking wary.

"Nah . . . I wanted to anyway." The alternate Mokuba half-turned away and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know we've never been nice to you. You had no reason to try to help us . . . if you were trying to help us . . . but you did anyway."

"We couldn't do anything else," Leichter said. "None of us particularly like your brother, but we couldn't see our way clear to just let that lunatic kill him in cold blood. None of us wanted to see you harmed either, Mokuba."

". . . Seto's really a good person," the alternate Mokuba said. "If you could just look past the bad, maybe you'd see what I see."

"Maybe I would," Leichter said noncommittally.

"And . . . I'd like to do that more with you too." The alternate Mokuba looked up slowly, hesitantly. He would rather not face the man, but he knew that his peace offering would be more effective if he did. And maybe part of him wanted to see Leichter's expression.

He wasn't disappointed; Leichter started to smile a bit. "I would like that."

"Yeah . . . me too." The alternate Mokuba managed a smile back.

Relieved, Yugi headed downstairs with his group. "I think they're going to be okay," he said.

"I think so too," Atem said. "You really did wonders with him, Yugi."

Yugi blushed. "Oh, it wasn't me," he said. "When this Mokuba started to realize the truth, I think it helped a lot to soften his attitude and feelings. I just encouraged that."

"I hope so," Lector said. From his expression, he was eager to get back to their own world . . . and to find his Mokuba, whom he had always cared about so dearly.

xxxx

The group made it back across town and through the portal safely. For a moment they stood looking at their own Domino City from the hill, relieved to be back and praying that their version of the city would never end up like the one they just come from.

"Home sweet home," Crump sighed as they moved to get into the car. "It's good to be back."

"Definitely," Johnson agreed.

Yugi immediately tried to call Téa, and was rewarded when she picked up almost instantly. "Yugi! What happened?!"

"I think it was just bad communication between dimensions," Yugi said awkwardly. "Nothing bad happened. I promise!"

"We were just on our way up there to the portal!" Téa said.

"We're back on this side of it now," Yugi assured her. "Everything's okay. We'll come down and help look through the book."

"Great," Téa sighed in relief. "We'll be waiting."

Yugi sighed and leaned back against the seat as he hung up. "I really hate to have to tell Yami Bakura what we found out over there. . . ."

"Maybe it won't happen in our world," Nesbitt said, although he knew it seemed a vain hope.

"It likely will," Atem said, "and he should know what's coming."

"Figures Shadi didn't tell him," Crump said in disgust.

"Or us." Lector rubbed his forehead. "There's not much likelihood we won't be involved."

"Well . . ." Yugi gave him an encouraging smile. "We all had to fight Zorc, and we came out of it okay. I have every faith in you guys and Yami Bakura. It'll be alright."

"I want to believe that," Lector said. "It sounds like he might be even more destructive than before."

"Zorc is dangerous, but one thing I've learned from fighting him is that the light of friendship and love can pierce through his darkness," Atem said. "In Egypt I felt I had to take him on all by myself. Perhaps if I hadn't done that, many of those I cared about wouldn't have fallen trying to stop him. It's true that when I was united with Yugi and my other dear friends in the present-day, we were able to defeat Zorc without fatalities."

"That is encouraging," Lector had to admit.

"I'd still like to think that it might not happen in this world," Nesbitt said. "We couldn't find any indication that Noa Kaiba ever existed in the other one. The virtual reality problems hadn't happened."

"That is a legitimate point," Gansley mused. "Noa Kaiba may exist and may be discovered at some point, but the virtual reality misadventures likely will not happen with the other versions of us."

"So just because something happens in one world, there's no guarantee it will happen in another," Nesbitt said.

"Maybe you're right," Yugi said. He certainly hoped their Mokuba would never act like the other one. And he knew he wouldn't be developing the interests that the other him had besides games.

They made it to Gansley's house without incident and all got out. "Looks like everybody else got here ahead of us," Crump said.

Gansley let them in and they promptly went to the study, where Téa was perusing the heavy tome and the others were gathered around her. Oreo meowed, pawing at a spherical object on one page.

"Any luck?" Gansley asked.

They all jumped a mile.

"You're back!" Joey exclaimed in relief.

"Lector!" Mokuba ran over and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay. . . ."

Lector smiled and held him close. "It is so good to see you, Mokuba," he said sincerely.

"Hi, everyone," Téa smiled. "Unfortunately, so far we haven't found anything like we're looking for."

"Oreo's sure interested in something," Yugi remarked. "What's that object for?"

Téa looked. "It's some kind of a compass. Not for finding people, though."

"Yeah. . . ." Yugi sighed. "I wonder if the best thing would be for Yami Bakura to go over there and use his Infinity Ring. The other me is currently using the other world's Infinity Ring, but since he's not 'the destined user,' it's possible it works even less for him than ours does for Yami Bakura."

"I dunno, Yug," Joey frowned. "Ours doesn't ever have a whole lot of luck when he tries to use his as a compass."

"Or as anything else," Tristan added.

"Sometimes it works," Yugi said. "It might be more precise than the other one's acting."

"He's still following the Game Master," Bakura said worriedly. He petted Oreo as he held her close. "Who knows how that will end up!"

"Meanwhile, you guys look exhausted," Tristan said, particularly to the Big Five. "Maybe you should get some rest while we keep looking."

"I wonder if I'll start sleepwalking if I try," Lector sighed. But he couldn't deny it sounded appealing. None of them had had much sleep the past night.

"It's worth a try," Nesbitt said gruffly. "Come on." He grasped Lector's shoulders and steered him towards the door. Lector went willingly.

"You can really crash at each other's places just like that?" Mai said with a surprised blink.

"We have some of our clothes at every house," Gansley said.

"That's handy," Joey said.

Tristan shifted. "Uh, Yugi . . . did you see all of us over there?"

"Yeah," Yugi said. "Well, some of you. I didn't see the Ishtars or David or Mai or Serenity. . . . Or Lumis and Umbra. . . ."

"I wonder who Serenity chose in that world," Tristan remarked.

"Maybe she hasn't chosen anyone yet," Téa sighed.

Duke looked away. Tristan couldn't go long at all without taking another dig at things.

Serenity sighed. She didn't want to talk about things right here, in front of everyone. Tristan had already blown up in hearing range of the entire high school. She knew Duke was both mortified and utterly discouraged.

"Well, there's still a lot of book to go through," Téa said, wanting to change the subject. "How about we see if Gansley's cook will make some hot chocolate for us?"

Joey's eyes lit up. "Sounds great to me!"

Bakura was still worried about Yami Bakura, but he had to admit the hot chocolate sounded good. He echoed his consent.

xxxx

Lector was still skeptical as he changed into pajamas and laid down on the bed. When Nesbitt came in moments later, Lector looked up at him. "We'll probably just have to immediately get back up when they find something," he pointed out.

"If they find anything," Nesbitt grunted. "It might take them a while. It's worth trying to get some sleep."

"Are you planning to stay again?" Lector asked. "In case I start sleepwalking? After everything we've learned, I'm afraid it would be an ideal time for it to happen."

Nesbitt had been thinking the same thing. "Yeah, I'm staying."

"Then come on and lay down," Lector said, gesturing at the bed. "Under the covers this time. It's cold."

Nesbitt still looked awkward at the thought, but he slowly complied, laying down just close enough to drape his arm around Lector.

Lector smiled and pulled the quilt back over them. Feeling completely safe and at peace, he started to doze.

xxxx

Yami Bakura had been following the Game Master for quite some time by now. The other him just seemed to be wandering aimlessly around town, with no particular destination in mind. On the other hand, maybe he knew he was being followed and he was trying to throw his stalker off the track or get him utterly bored.

His suspicions were confirmed several blocks later.

"I know you're there," the Game Master flatly informed him. "Why don't we stop playing these ridiculous games and get down to business?"

Yami Bakura stepped out from behind a tree. "Your business is exactly what I am trying to find out," he retorted. "After what you did to all of us last time, you will forgive us if we still aren't sure what to make of you."

"Heh." The Game Master came closer, starting to walk around him. "How did you handle it when you realized you weren't Zorc?"

". . . It was difficult. Confusing. Although I realized I had always known my true identity deep down." Yami Bakura turned with him.

"I don't know what to even think of what I did," the Game Master said. "Was it me or was it Zorc? Or was it somehow both of us combined?"

"I am still searching for those answers myself," Yami Bakura said. "What I ask you now is if you regret any of it."

The Game Master looked away with a growl. "I don't know. I wanted justice to begin with. Zorc changed me. But as for the things I did to the boy . . . I did what I thought made sense as to how to keep him safe from those who were harming him or to keep him from being alone."

"Putting people's souls in objects made sense?" Yami Bakura grunted.

A shrug. "It kept them from dying and moving on. They would be with him forever!"

Yami Bakura frowned, deeply. After being in the modern world as long as he had, he recognized that the Game Master's behavior must be a direct product of having all his loved ones taken from him at such a young age. He himself had been drastically affected too, but he hadn't become twisted to this extent.

"Surely you understand," the Game Master said. "He really wasn't ever alone!"

"He wasn't alone just with you there either," Yami Bakura said. "Anyway, you apparently put the bullies' souls in objects too. Did you think your Bakura would want _them_ with him forever?!"

"Putting them in objects was a punishment on them," the Game Master sneered. "And oh, how delightful it felt. But as for the Landlord's friends, they should have been grateful. So should he."

Yami Bakura resisted the urge to facepalm. The punishment part he could understand, but the rest. . . . Although he had done twisted things like putting people in games too, he had never thought they would be grateful about it. He really didn't know how to deal with this character.

"What are you planning to do now?" he asked.

". . . I don't know," the Game Master admitted.

"If you come after us again, we'll have to stop you," Yami Bakura warned.

"I know," the Game Master said. He growled and looked away. "I have no way to get home. You're quite stuck with me, and I with you."

Yami Bakura folded his arms. "Hypothetically speaking, if there _was_ a way for you to return home, what would you do there?"

". . . Well, I wouldn't try to conquer the world," the Game Master said.

"Ah, but would you put the people there in demented Shadow Games, like you did to us?" Yami Bakura countered.

The Game Master looked away. "No."

Yami Bakura sighed. He believed that, but he wasn't sure whether to tell the character about the portal or not. "Come on," he said at last. "We need to find a phone." _And I had better take Bakura up on his offer to get me one,_ he thought to himself. _This is quite inconvenient._ Normally he had figured he didn't need one since he was usually with Bakura and Bakura had a phone. But every now and then a situation like this came along, so it seemed more and more like having his own phone would be a good idea.

The Game Master trailed after him, still looking wary. Yami Bakura slowed down to let him get ahead. "Go before me," he ordered. With a sneer, he added, "I don't trust having my enemies behind me."

"Neither do I," the Game Master replied. "So perhaps we shall just have to make a compromise. Side by side?"

"Very well," Yami Bakura grunted.

xxxx

Téa and Yugi had been poring over the magical object book for ages when Téa gave a sudden, excited exclamation. "I found something!"

Joey, who had been dozing with an empty mug of hot chocolate, jumped a mile and had to grab for it before it could crash on the floor. "Huh?! What?!"

"This thing here." Téa held up the book and pointed at something that looked like a golden candle holder, uniquely ornamented with falling leaf designs. "It says it's capable of opening pathways to other dimensions!"

Duke went stiff at the sight. "Oh no," he gasped.

"Duke?" Serenity looked at him in surprise. "Do you know where that thing is?"

"Yeah," Duke grumbled. "And I'm not sure how we're going to get it."

"So what's the big deal?" Tristan said in annoyance.

Duke wasn't sure what to make of that. It was the first time Tristan had spoken directly to him all day. "The big deal is that it's already got an owner," he said. "It's on display at the Peaceful Meadows Mortuary. I saw it there when I had to make funeral arrangements for my father."

David cringed. "Okay. . . ."

"_A mortuary?!"_ Joey shrieked.

Seto didn't look impressed. "So we'll buy it from them," he retorted.

"I heard someone asking him about it when I was there," Duke said. "He said it was one of a kind and he'd never part with it."

"People always say that." Seto got up, his coat swishing around him. "But they usually give in when they see how high someone is willing to go. We'll make an offer they can't refuse."

"On the other hand, if they see we're that interested, they may start wondering what could possibly be so special about it," Atem cautioned. "They may end up deducing that it's worth more than money."

"I doubt their monetary greed would fall short of their reason," Seto retorted. "Let's go."

Well, one way or another they would have to acquire the object, so one by one the group stood to follow Seto out the door.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Duke had been right about the funeral director's love of the unique candle holder. Once the group went to the mortuary, he was adamant about not selling it. Not even Seto's highest offer deterred him.

"It's beautiful," he argued. "I've never found another like it."

Duke looked to Serenity and quietly nodded. On the drive, they had planned for an attempt to soften the man's resolve. Duke had felt Serenity's sweetness might be the best option. Now she stepped forward with a smile.

"Neither have we," she said. "I know Mom would just love something like this!" Though she didn't like the white lie, she knew it was vital that they get hold of the object. Surely it had to be the artifact, after all, and not just something that looked like it!

Mr. Graves, the funeral director, raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you could have someone make a reproduction of it."

"So could you," Duke remarked, twirling a piece of hair around his finger.

"I couldn't possibly," Mr. Graves snorted. "Only an original would do!"

"We feel the same," Seto grunted.

"You expect me to believe that all of you are trying to buy this object for the girl's mother?" Mr. Graves snapped.

"Hey, we all care about her a lot," Joey shot back. "She's my sister! So it's my mother too!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to figure out something else," Mr. Graves retorted. "And if none of you need to bury a loved one today, that will have to be all. Good day!" And he turned and stocked back into his office.

Several of the group flinched as the door slammed.

". . . That went well," Duke said with dripping sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, guys," Serenity sighed. "I tried my best. . . ."

"He has to have a heart of stone not to be moved by you, Serenity," Tristan growled.

"Not to mention, no interest in money," Seto frowned. "How could that candle holder really mean that much to him if he doesn't know its real value?"

"And that crack about burying loved ones was just sick!" Mokuba was frowning too. He looked up at Seto. "Would it be too awful to 'borrow' the candle holder and bring it back when we're done?"

Seto grunted. "If the 'borrowing' was discovered, we could all get in a lot of trouble. I don't need that kind of bad publicity."

"I know," Mokuba sighed. "I didn't really mean it."

"Maybe you should call the other world and tell them about it, Yugi," Téa suggested. "Maybe in their world it's not owned by a jerk like this guy."

"Yeah, maybe I should do that," Yugi agreed. "But what if they can't find their world's version of it? We wouldn't know about ours if Duke hadn't seen it before."

"Actually, we don't know that this one is the real thing," Duke pointed out. "What if it just looks like it?"

Atem frowned at it, sitting so nonchalantly on a table. "If Yami Bakura were here, he would say we should pick it up and test it."

"Would that be such a bad idea?" Tristan wondered. "Actually, why couldn't we just open the other dimensions right here? It wouldn't have to leave the place at all."

"It would only work if no one was around," Atem replied. "Someone could walk in on us any time."

"We could hide until it closes," Mokuba suggested.

Joey quaked. "You mean . . . be here when no one's here but the stiffs?!"

Téa shuddered. "That really does sound pretty creepy when it's put like that. . . ."

"Yami would certainly be amused," Bakura sighed. Oreo meowed.

"Maybe we should get the Big Five's input on this," Yugi said. "We decided to let them sleep while we came to check this out, but maybe we'll have to wake them up."

"And we haven't heard back from Yami yet," Bakura worried.

At that moment his phone rang. As he fumbled to get it out, Oreo pressed the button to answer it. She meowed loudly into it.

"Oreo!" Bakura exclaimed in mortification.

"Cat," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Yami!" Bakura perked up. "What's happening?!"

"I've been talking with the other me," Yami Bakura said. "I don't believe he's still a threat, although of course we can't know for certain. And I wasn't sure how much to tell him about . . . things."

Bakura switched it to Speaker. "Is he still with you now?"

"Yes," Yami Bakura said. "We're in the lobby of the Royal Hotel. He's walking around looking bored."

Atem sighed. "This is a complicated situation. I don't like to turn him loose in the other world, but I'm not crazy about him staying here either."

"Perhaps I should tell him that he might very well be meant to be a Boy Scout in his world?" Yami Bakura said with heavy sarcasm. "Or perhaps that might make him go ballistic again."

"Well . . ." Atem looked to the group at large. "We think we've found the artifact we need to search other dimensions, but it's at a funeral home and the director won't sell. We're not sure how to get hold of it."

"Are you suggesting someone should . . . steal it, Pharaoh?" Yami Bakura sounded highly amused now.

"No, I wasn't actually suggesting that," Atem retorted. "But perhaps we should leave and come back after hours and use it then. We would need a way to get in without setting off the alarms."

"I would be happy to oblige," Yami Bakura said. "I'm sure the other me would as well. We enjoy still being able to use our skills."

"I'm sure you do," Atem grunted.

Bakura looked worried. "But . . . breaking and entering? That doesn't sound like a good idea. . . ."

"Hey, it's for a good cause," Joey countered. "We'd just use the thing and leave."

"If nothing went wrong," Atem sighed. "Which it might. Using strange magical objects always poses a risk."

"I think we should find out what the Big Five think about this too," Yugi said.

"But what shall I do with this character?" Yami Bakura growled. "Should we really trust him with the knowledge of any of this?"

". . . I would rather not," Atem admitted.

Yugi bit his lip and looked down. He had to admit that even he was a little apprehensive. But the Game Master hadn't hurt them when he'd had a perfect chance. . . .

"Maybe you could send him to Duke's place and have him unload boxes with Lumis and Umbra," Tristan grunted.

"Oh, gee, thanks," Duke shot back.

Tristan shrugged. "Well, if he's really not a threat. . . ."

"I feel like someone needs to watch over him, at least for a while," Atem said. "And it would be better if it was a magic user."

"Shall I just continue baby-sitting him then?" Yami Bakura grunted.

". . . We might need Yami Bakura with us too," Yugi spoke up. "Maybe the Game Master can be trusted. . . ."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know we're after an object that can open portals to other dimensions," Tristan countered. "Maybe he'll stop being 'good' if he finds out!"

"That is a legitimate possibility," Yami Bakura said. "He might want to use it to go home, at the very least."

". . . Let's talk to the Big Five and then decide," Yugi said. "We're leaving right now to go back to Gansley's."

"Fine," Yami Bakura retorted, and hung up.

Yugi winced. "I hope that's not the wrong decision. . . ."

"In a mess like this, it's hard to know what's the _right_ decision," Tristan replied.

No one could disagree.

xxxx

Nesbitt was somewhat surprised when he felt Lector moving but he opened his eyes to find his friend just shifting position. He had been certain he would find Lector getting up to go out as the Purple Avenger. Instead, Lector seemed completely at ease, with no intention of doing anything other than sleeping.

Nesbitt sighed to himself. He was glad for Lector to be peaceful and wanted it to continue, but he couldn't help wondering whether it really would. They were really only guessing as to why Lector had been sleepwalking and what might make it stop. Would it really be as simple as talking things out more with the others? Lector did bottle up a lot of his pain, but when Nesbitt thought about it, maybe he had talked about more of it than it had initially seemed. Still, the human mind was a complicated thing, as Nesbitt had been learning over and over lately. Who really knew what was going on in Lector's? Lector himself didn't seem to be sure.

A soft knock on the door brought his attention up. Crump was standing there, looking in at them as he moved the door open. "Hey," he said quietly. "They think they've found the artifact and they need to talk to all of us."

"We're coming," Nesbitt promised. He moved his arm off of Lector. "Wake up," he ordered, though he hated to disturb the exhausted man.

"Hmm?" Lector turned, blinking sleepily at him.

"We need to talk with the others about the artifact now," Nesbitt told him.

"Alright." Still half-asleep, Lector sat up and stumbled into his slippers before getting off the bed. Nesbitt quickly followed him.

Crump seemed surprised just as Nesbitt was. "I thought sure we'd have to stop you from going out bagging crooks, Buddy," he said to Lector.

"I know," Lector mused. "I wonder why you didn't."

"Maybe he felt so peaceful with Nesbitt there that he was able to remind himself subconsciously that we're all okay," Johnson suggested as he appeared.

"Maybe so, but we can't go on like this indefinitely," Lector objected. "I know Nesbitt prefers having the bed to himself, and I don't like imposing. . . ."

"We'll figure out how to fix it," Nesbitt insistently growled. "But for now, it's fine. I'm just glad you stayed put."

"So am I," Lector mused.

They all gathered and headed downstairs, where Yugi and the rest were all waiting. They listened to the tale of what had happened, grim and concerned at the descriptions of the trouble at the funeral home and of Yami Bakura's encounter with the Game Master.

"Yeah, that's a bunch of problems, alright," Crump said.

"He must know the object's true value," Gansley grunted. "Why else would he be so adamant about not selling, even when Mr. Kaiba offered so much?"

"Some people are just that sentimental," Serenity said.

Tristan sighed. "He sure doesn't seem like the type, though."

"I agree," Seto said. "I don't think he can be trusted."

"If he knew what it is, would he really keep it on display?" Atem looked doubtful.

"What better place to hide it?" Gansley countered. "No one would give it a second glance!"

Yugi frowned. "And I managed to get through to the other me and they have no idea where their copy of the artifact is. They checked the funeral home and Mr. Graves' home and it's not either place."

". . . I probably don't want to know how they checked his home," Téa said.

"Too bad we can't just make a reproduction ourselves and then quietly replace it until we're done with it," Crump said. "I mean, usin' it at the funeral home might not work. Who knows what might come through a portal! We could damage the whole place and have to pay for it!"

"That is unfortunately an excellent point," Lector said. "We probably shouldn't try using it there."

"It's a shame we can't create an illusion of it still being there while we're 'borrowing' it," Johnson said.

"Yes, isn't it," Atem said wryly.

"I could have a replacement made," Seto said.

"Today?" Atem raised an eyebrow.

"Try me." Seto took out his phone. "It should be ready by tonight, at least."

"But then we'll have to break in to switch them," Téa worried.

"We already knew we'd probably be going there after hours," Seto said. "We have to do that to get the object in the first place."

"Say it ain't so," Joey whimpered.

"Weird to see you this involved in trying to help us without being asked," Tristan remarked.

Seto grunted. "I just want this problem over and done with. Since I'll probably end up involved anyway, I'd rather take an active role now and hopefully get it wrapped up that much sooner."

Yugi still looked worried. "I'm not sure this is what we should really be doing. . . . I know it seems suspicious that Mr. Graves was so immovable, but . . ."

"It's not like we're stealing it," Joey said. "We'll be giving him another one, and we'll bring the original right back as soon as we're done with it!"

"I know," Yugi sighed, "but still . . ." His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Nevermind. . . . I guess we'd better do it. . . ."

Téa bit her lip. "Maybe we should try talking to Mr. Graves again. . . ."

"That won't work," Seto insisted. "Let's just do what we have to do and get it over with." In a moment he was on with someone at his company and describing the object he wanted copied.

Yugi sighed again, but didn't stop him.

xxxx

Seto's reproduction was ready late that night. The two Yami Bakuras met the rest of the group at the funeral home. Whether most of the group liked it or not, those two were the most highly skilled at getting into places undetected. Yami Bakura was needed, and he had little choice but to bring his counterpart along.

"This has been an unbearably long day," he growled as he set to work on the back door after Seto had electronically disabled the alarms.

"I can imagine," Tristan frowned, looking the Game Master up and down. "How much did you tell him about what's going on?"

"Not much," Yami Bakura said. "He can figure the rest out for himself."

Bakura was nervously looking at his phone while he waited. His jaw dropped as he ran across one article in particular. ". . . The two of you caused the kitchen at the Royal Hotel to have to close for lack of meat?!"

The Game Master finally cracked a smirk. "Well, I had to do something while we were stuck there."

"So you had an eating contest?!" Bakura waved the phone at them.

"Actually, we were honestly hungry," Yami Bakura grunted. "It just turned into a contest to see who got the most meat."

"Oh . . ." Bakura groaned.

"Of course, had you been there, all the rest of the food would have been eaten too," Yami Bakura smirked.

"Yes, but now you're both in the local paper!" Bakura exclaimed. "We needed to keep a low profile on . . . on him!" He nodded to the Game Master.

"I had to use the phone there," Yami Bakura replied. "Then he got away from me. I didn't catch up to him until he was starting to eat. That looked so appealing that I joined in."

"Not to mention, you were the only one between you who had money," Bakura remarked.

"We should have known that turning them loose where there was a dining room was a bad idea," Tristan grunted.

"One Yami Bakura in a ritzy establishment is embarrassing enough," Mai added.

"You realize you're rather biting the hand that feeds you," Yami Bakura remarked. The door clicked and he pushed it open, revealing the dimly-lit back hall. "There."

"Thanks," Yugi smiled at him. "Now let's be quick about replacing the candle holder and getting out."

"So much trouble for a candle holder," the Game Master sarcastically commented.

"And since we've come in the back way, there's no telling what we're going to find in some of these rooms," Marik said.

Joey went stiff. "Do you hear groaning?!"

Everyone fell silent.

"I do," Téa gasped. "But . . . there's not any cars! We're supposed to be the only ones in here!"

Lector looked uneasy. "I doubt that's what you think it is," he remarked.

"Somebody's groaning," Tristan shot back. "That means we need to find them and get help for them!" He flung open the nearest door. "It sounds like it's in here!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he froze. Joey ran over. "Tristan, what's . . . _yiiiikes!_"

They were both staring in horror at a body on a slab. It seemed to be eerily twitching, and making definite moaning sounds and grunts as it did. The boys couldn't flee, shaking in terror.

Téa sighed. "Come on, guys, what's . . . oh my gosh!" she shrieked.

Both Yami Bakuras looked highly amused.

"You didn't know dead bodies do that?" Yami Bakura said.

"No, of course we didn't know!" Joey spat. "It's like something out of a horror flick!"

"That perfectly normal function of a corpse is probably what inspired some of the horror greats," Yami Bakura said.

"That is freaky," Crump shuddered. "It almost makes you think it's really comin' back to life!"

"Heh. Well, it's not," the Game Master said. "It's just rigor mortis."

Joey finally fumbled for the knob and pulled it shut. "That's supposed to make the stiffs go stiff, not act like zombies!" he wailed.

"It takes a while for it to fully set in," Yami Bakura explained, still looking highly entertained. "The corpse often engages in antics like that during the process. Usually it's only smaller muscles that move, as you're seeing here. But every now and then, something more . . . interesting happens."

"What?!" Joey shrieked.

"Didn't you know they can sit straight up sometimes?" Yami Bakura grinned.

Joey looked ready to cry. "No!"

Serenity frowned. "Come on, stop torturing my poor brother," she scolded.

The Game Master ignored her. "Actually, since it's quite a unique phenomenon for them to move that much, I say we should watch the show in case it happens," he sneered. He reached for the doorknob.

"Are you crazy?!" Joey screamed. ". . . No, don't answer that." He and Tristan grabbed him and tackled him away from the door.

"We are _not_ going in there, not for anything!" Tristan boomed.

"Okay, stop scaring them, you guys," Yugi said in exasperation to the two Yami Bakuras. "We're here for an important reason!"

David just shook his head. "We really have to do something with this guy. They're starting to act like mischief-making twins!"

"At least Mokuba isn't here," Téa sighed. Seto had refused to allow that, so Ishizu and Rishid had decided to stay with him—and Oreo, whom Bakura had not wanted to bring—while the rest of the group came to see about the candle holder.

Nesbitt looked to Lector, who seemed shaken himself. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Lector said.

"You acted like you knew what the groaning was," Nesbitt said. "Have you . . . seen that before?"

"I've heard about it from those who have seen it," Lector said. "One of my acquaintances from New Orleans worked with the bodies in a funeral parlor."

"Seriously?!" Crump exclaimed. "That's gotta be the worst job ever!"

"He fixed people's hair for the wakes," Lector said. "He claimed that occasionally bodies could even sit straight up, like those Yami Bakuras are saying, but I was never sure if he was spoofing me or not. He offered for me to come down there and watch him work, but I didn't take him up on it."

"Who would?!" Crump shuddered.

Atem shook his head. "Come on, all of you. Let's just get to the main room and make the switch and leave!"

"That is perfectly alright with me," Lector said.

"Do you feel perfectly alright with switching the candle holders?" Bakura asked as they started walking again. "I don't feel very good about it. . . ."

Lector looked defeated. "For my part, I would rather try to convince Mr. Graves that we need it. But I realize that might not be very practical under the circumstances."

"And hey, coming to think of it, is it even a good idea to bring the original back?" Crump wondered. "I mean, what if the guy sets off its power by accident?"

"I've thought of that," Atem admitted, even as he frowned at Crump for his slip. "First let's see how easy or difficult it is to activate its power. Apparently it's been here for years without anything happening."

"Power?" The Game Master perked up. "I knew you wouldn't be going to all this trouble just to get a new aesthetic."

"Crump . . ." Lector sighed. "He wasn't supposed to know. . . ."

"Well, it's not like we could keep it from him forever," Crump retorted. "Especially when we start trying it out!"

"We sure can't. Maybe we'll have to come clean and tell Mr. Graves exactly what the candle holder is and what it does and how that could be misused," Yugi said. "Maybe then he'd be willing to let us keep it. I'm with Lector; I still don't really like this. . . ."

"Or maybe he'd want it all the more," Tristan retorted. "I'm still not sure he doesn't already know what he's really got."

Joey nodded. "You said it, Tristan. And seriously? A funeral director named Graves? That just doesn't happen!"

"It does to us," Mai said dryly.

Without warning, the lights went out.

"And so does this!" Joey screamed. "It's probably the stiff! It's after us!"

"Calm down, Joseph," Johnson retorted. "That's ridiculous!" But from the sound of his voice, he was disturbed too.

Seto turned on a flashlight and beamed it over the group. "Obviously we're not as alone in here as we thought," he said.

"And we're also not all here," Yugi gasped. "Duke and Crump are gone!"

"What?!" Gansley snapped. "Are you sure?!"

"They really are gone!" Serenity exclaimed in horror. "Duke was standing right here by me!"

"Oh no!" David stared, slowly clenching a fist at his side. How had this happened without him realizing?! He had been standing by Duke too.

Atem wondered the same thing. "How did this happen?!" he cried. He shook his head, trying to stay calm. "Nevermind. We'll have to spread out and look for them. They can't be far!"

Joey stared at him in terror. "They might be back in that horror room with the zombies!"

"As if Duke would go in there," Tristan retorted.

"Well, he's gotta be somewhere, and that's close!" Joey defended. "Maybe he just opened the door and walked in by accident in the dark!"

"Then we'll have to look there," Serenity said in determination.

"You are not going in there, Serenity!" Joey cried. ". . . I'll do it." He quaked.

"Me too," Tristan added.

"_I'll_ look there," Yami Bakura said flatly. "As entertaining as it might be to watch you two try to navigate that room, this is now a serious matter."

"Oh yeah?!" Joey glared at him. "Well, we can be serious and not scared when we have to be!"

"It's also not a competition," Yami Bakura boredly informed him. "We don't need you going in there just to prove you're brave enough to do so. We simply need to find the missing people and figure out why they're missing."

"If the other you was missing, we could figure he carted them off somewhere," Tristan scowled. "But he's here!"

Indeed, the Game Master was going over to the room in question. This time no one stopped him from opening the door, and he wandered inside while looking over the various slabs. Most were covered with sheets, and he proceeded to pull the sheets away from every face.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Joey exclaimed. "Duke wouldn't be . . ."

A scream from Serenity cut him off. The final sheet had been pulled back, revealing Duke laying silent and still on the slab.

"Oh my gosh!" Téa shrieked.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Serenity was running into the room in the next instant. Heedless of the corpses on other slabs, she tore over to Duke in horror and grabbed his hand. "Duke, wake up!" she sobbed. "Wake up! . . ."

Again Tristan was frozen, but this time not because of the strange bodies and their rigor mortis. Was Duke . . . was he really . . . ?! His heart thumped loudly in his chest, enough to almost drown out the talking around him. He felt weak, dizzy. He grabbed for the edge of the doorframe.

Atem laid a hand on his shoulder, but didn't know what to say. He was sure he knew what was going through Tristan's mind, and it was hard to know how to respond without knowing if Duke was alive or dead. It would be horrible enough to lose a friend in any case, but when there had been such a hurtful argument between them it would be far worse.

David ran over too, touching his fingers to Duke's neck. "He's not dead," he said with relief. "Let's get him out of here." He lifted his friend into his arms to carry him away from the ghastly room.

The announcement was a relief to all present, but it didn't stop the troubling questions.

Tristan let out a shaking breath, trying to get himself back under control. "How did he even get here?!" he exclaimed.

"Someone's trying to scare all of us," Yugi said.

"I'm betting on multiple someones," Johnson said. "Duke and Crump had to have been taken away at the same time, and it would take more than one person to subdue Crump and to cart him off."

"And it happened so fast," Téa said, shaken. "Kaiba turned the flashlight on almost as soon as the lights went out. How could they have worked that fast?!"

"It's almost like The Flash did it or something," Joey gulped. "Or somebody who can stop time!"

"It would take another artifact with special powers to do either of those things," Lector said. He was starting to panic. Crump hadn't been in the same room with Duke. Where was he?! He opened one door, then another, desperate to find his friend. Gansley, Johnson, and Nesbitt quickly joined him.

David found a couch farther along the hall and laid Duke on it. "Come on, Duke. Wake up," he whispered.

Serenity took Duke's hand again, sinking to her knees in despair and fear.

Joey went to her. "Hey, he's gonna be okay, Sis," he soothed.

"But why is he unconscious in the first place?!" Serenity exclaimed. "And why did someone put him in that awful room?!"

"Just to be cruel," Joey said darkly. "And they're gonna regret it." He slammed his fist into his palm. "I can promise that!"

Tristan hung back, staring at the scene. He wasn't sure what to think or how to feel. Of course he wouldn't have wanted Duke to be harmed. He had planned to talk to him, to suggest them having a discussion with Gansley to moderate. But then everything had turned on its head and there had never seemed to be a good time to bring it up. If Duke hadn't just been unconscious, it would have been too late for any such resolution.

"You still have a chance to make things right," Atem spoke up, just loud enough for him to hear.

Tristan looked away. "Yeah, I guess . . . but how do I even go about that? Especially when I could have let it get fixed before and instead I let it get worse. . . ."

"I know Duke doesn't want things to stay as they are between you two," Atem said. "He tried to reach out and you slapped his hand away." Tristan flinched at the truth of that statement. "Now it's your turn to reach out."

Finally Tristan nodded. "Yeah. . . . I guess I'd better do it before anything else goes wrong. We're all just lucky he's going to be okay. . . ."

Atem nodded too. "We most certainly are." He looked towards the corridor in concern. "And we still have to find Crump. . . ."

Suddenly a horrified scream most of the group had never heard before echoed through the building.

"What was that?!" Joey wailed.

"Johnson!" Gansley hurried towards the sound of the cry as fast as he could manage. "What is it?!"

"I found Crump," Johnson choked out.

"Well, is he alive?!" Lector shot back.

He stopped short as he ran into the room where coffins were on display for purchase. Johnson was shaking, gripping the edge of one casket as he stared into it.

Nesbitt swore and tore past Lector. Johnson was too horrified to be able to move for the moment. Crump was laying motionless in the coffin, his hands resting on his chest. Nesbitt pressed his fingers to Crump's throat. "He's alive," he reported.

Gansley sighed. "Thank God."

Lector ran over now, laying one hand on Johnson's trembling shoulder while reaching for Crump with the other. "Crump?! Can you hear us?!" Crump didn't respond, and Lector gripped his limp hand.

Johnson looked to him. "Lector?"

"Someone is pulling out all the stops to scare us," Lector snarled. His voice was dark, furious. No one could blame him.

Marik came and stood in the doorway with a frown. "I wonder what they were both knocked out with. . . ."

"I don't smell anything sweet, so probably not chloroform," Lector said.

"Maybe it was even something magical," Johnson worried. "Like the artifact we came here for?!"

"If it blasted two people, don't you think we would have noticed?" Yami Bakura dryly responded. "We also need to think about what we're going to do now. How are we going to get them out of here?"

"We're just going to," Lector snapped.

"We had a terrible time carrying Crump into the house that time," Johnson remembered. "But we'll get him out to the car somehow. . . . It wasn't as hard as carrying Gansley, and we managed to do that when we had to. . . ."

"You know, the coffin is currently on wheels," the Game Master snidely remarked. "You could just . . ."

"Seriously?!" Tristan snapped. "That's sick!"

"It's practical," Yami Bakura grunted. "Although it would certainly bring us to the attention of anyone passing by, but that would probably happen anyway."

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if the candle holder is even still here," Téa said with a nervous glance over her shoulder. "What if whoever's doing this to us took it because they want it? It could be Mr. Graves or even someone else!"

"I think I should go check," Atem said in concern. "The rest of you, keep trying to wake them up." He started down the hall, but was immediately interrupted.

"Don't bother. Yes, I have it."

Serenity flinched. "Mr. Graves!"

The dim overnight lights came on, revealing a sneering funeral director, candle holder in hand. "I knew immediately that when you offered such a high amount, Mr. Kaiba, that you were all aware of what this little decoration really is." He stepped forward. "So I knew you'd come back for it. I just had to lay in wait with four of my trusted employees. When I felt the time was right, one of them shut off the lights, I tazed your friends unconscious, and my employees helped me load them into different macabre locations."

"How did you move so quickly?!" Atem demanded.

"The darkness can be a tremendous cover," Graves replied. "At some points we were only steps ahead of you!"

Nesbitt snarled. "There was no reason to harm our friends!"

"But you certainly can't sue me for it, can you?" Graves laughed. "If you tried, I'd have to point out that you came in here to rob me and I was merely defending myself."

"You lyin' snake!" Joey spat.

Gansley's eyes flashed. "If you already knew about the candle holder's powers, what were you planning to do with them?!"

"Who knows? The sky's the limit," Graves answered with a sickening smile. "And as long as you're here, you might be interested in seeing the employees who have been helping me tonight." He gestured towards the shadows.

"Why would we care?!" Nesbitt snapped.

The rest of the lights came on and the entire group gave a collective gasp.

"It . . . can't be," Atem choked.

"No way!" Joey cried.

Four men stepped forward, their eyes and expressions blank.

"The other Big Four," Lector whispered in horror. Louder he boomed, "What have you done to them?!"

"The candle holder can do more than open other dimensions," Graves said. "It also allows for the darkest form of mind-control. Several weeks ago, these unfortunate souls fell into our world from theirs. All they wanted was to go back to their friend."

"And you wouldn't let them?!" Téa exclaimed. "Why?!"

"I wanted them to tell me all about their world!" Graves' eyes were wild with madness. "They wouldn't, so I forced the knowledge out of them and then decided to make them serve me."

"I still don't understand why!" Lector snarled.

"I know about you," Graves said. "I know of the powers you have when the world is in danger. Your counterparts don't have those powers yet. But if they were under my control when they received them . . ."

"Then you would get the power," Gansley realized. "It's a foolhardy plan! You said it yourself—we only have those powers when the world is in danger. We can't use them to gain wealth and power for ourselves, or whatever else you would want to use them for!"

"I'd find a way," Graves vowed. "You're all fools, to not even try to use the power for yourselves!"

"We can't," Nesbitt said. "But if you don't let them go, so help me, I'll force you to in my own way!" He steadfastly refused to look at his counterpart. That was too eerie. But seeing the other Gansley, Crump, and Johnson, their blank eyes, and thinking on their Lector's sadness, was quickly pushing him to his boiling point.

"You'll certainly have to force me in order to get this back." Graves waved the candle holder at them. "I could simply open a portal right here and go through it."

"You won't," Lector vowed. "We won't let you!"

Crump finally started to stir. "Lector? . . . Hey, what's goin' on? . . ." He gasped as it started to dawn on him where he was. "What the heck?! I'm in a coffin! What is this?!"

"It's a sick joke," Nesbitt snarled. "This monster . . . he's had the other Big Four all along! They put you in there!"

"_WHAAAT?!"_ Crump stumbled out of the coffin and nearly into his counterpart. "Oh, sorry. . . . Oh." He went pale, staring into the other him's blank face. "What's wrong with him?!"

"They're all being mind-controlled," Atem said darkly.

"That's horrible!" Serenity cried. She looked to Graves, eyes flashing. "They never did anything to you! All they wanted was to go home!" She was still gripping Duke's hand, and now he started to revive, stunned and confused by what was going on around him.

"Serenity . . . David . . . what's . . ." Duke grimaced. "Ugh, my head hurts. . . ."

"Duke!" Serenity hugged him close.

David breathed a sigh of relief. "Welcome back, Dukey-Boy. You're sure coming back to a hornet's nest."

Duke returned the hug and sat up, bewildered. "What's going on?!"

"The other Big Four," Bakura said, nodding in their direction. "They've been here all along. . . . But they're hurt. . . ."

"What?!" Duke exclaimed.

"Why didn't we ever stop to think they might have fallen into our world?" Johnson said, looking shaken.

"Because there were never any reports on us being seen places where we weren't," Gansley growled. "We never stopped to consider that perhaps they were prisoners."

Lector shook his head. "Seeing them here . . . isn't the big surprise to me that it should have been. . . . I wonder if . . . deep down, maybe I knew they were here and in trouble," he whispered. "Several weeks ago was when the Purple Avenger first started appearing. When you found me the other night, I was going into the mall. But maybe I was taking a shortcut to here; it's only on the next block over."

"That's ridiculous," Seto scoffed.

"Is it?" Gansley frowned. "When I think of it, several other sightings of the Purple Avenger were in this area. Perhaps all of those sightings were when our Lector was playing the role and he truly did sense that other versions of us were in this dimension. He may have been looking for them every time, but other crimes got in his way. Then the daylight would come and he would return home because subconsciously he knew he was about to wake up."

"And we were all alright, so if he had any subconscious foreboding about us, it wouldn't make any sense to him when he was awake," Johnson said.

"So why wouldn't their Lector have sensed they were here?" Yami Bakura grunted.

"What if he did?" Yugi spoke up. "That intense longing he felt, that need to come here. . . . Maybe he thought it was because of our world's Big Five, since he was so convinced his friends were dead, but it was really because his friends were here and in trouble!"

A swoop of cloth and Leichter soared down from an open skylight in the ceiling, his eyes dark, his expression filled with outrage. "And now I'm here and I'm seeing what you've done!" he burst out. "And now you're going to pay!"

Graves jumped a mile. But then, cruelly, coldly, he started to laugh. "Of course, the other Lector. You're overdue. But you will never reclaim your friends. I told this group that this was the darkest mind-control. The reason? I haven't just put them under my control; I've erased all memory of their lives! As far as they know, they're robotic drones!"

Leichter rocked back in utter horror. "No! . . ." He looked in desperation to his friends. "Please! You have to prove him wrong! You have to come back to yourselves and show that your souls are still here!" But they only stared through him. In anguish Leichter fell to his knees in front of them. _"Please! . . ."_

And Nesbitt's willpower broke. He had come to fear the thought of being an android instead of a human. Now, seeing the other him turned into something worse than an android and his Lector reacting, it was more than Nesbitt could bear. He roared and lunged, tackling Graves to the floor without warning. "Give it to me!" he screamed, fighting to take hold of the candle holder clutched in Graves' hand. _"NOW!"_

The rest of the Big Five, plus Leichter, joined him. Atem and the others tried to run over as well, but they couldn't get close enough. All they could do was helplessly watch the struggle while also looking over at the statuesque alternate Big Four, who were standing and doing nothing while waiting for commands.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Graves suddenly roared. "Come on! Help me! Get him off me!"

The alternate Big Four came to life, plowing in between Gansley and Johnson. The other Crump reached down, grabbing Nesbitt around the waist and hauling him away from Graves.

"Hey!" Nesbitt yelled. "Cut it out! Put me down!" He struggled, while at the same time trying not to hurt his assailant.

"That's the other me!" Crump exclaimed. "Let him go already!" He moved to tackle his alternate self.

Instead, the other Crump held out Nesbitt and pushed him into Crump's arms. At the same moment, Graves stood and activated the candle holder. A portal opened in mid-air.

"Let's get out of here!" he ordered. He jumped through first, with the alternate Big Four quickly following.

"Oh no you don't!" Leichter cried. He leaped through after them.

"We can't let that portal close!" Yugi exclaimed. "We don't know where it leads; they could all be lost to us forever if they're going somewhere other than that one particular world!"

The Game Master looked to Yugi with a start. But before he could question him, Joey was running forward and leaping through the hole in space. "You're not gettin' away from me, you sleaze!" he yelled.

"Joey!" Serenity wailed.

"For once I must agree with him," Atem said. "We have to go."

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Crump cried.

The Big Five went through almost all at once. But after Seto, Yugi, and Atem followed, the portal suddenly closed.

"Oh no!" Téa stared at horror at the spot where it had been. "Now what are we going to do?!"

"We'll have to try the portal on the hill," Yami Bakura said. "Graves doesn't know it exists, and he wants the powers of the Big Five from that world, so it's very likely he went there and doesn't think we can all follow him."

"I hope you're right," Téa moaned.

The Game Master's expression darkened. "And just when were you going to tell me about this?" he demanded.

"When we had to or when we trusted you," Yami Bakura replied. "This was more of 'when we had to.'"

"And what about Mokuba?" Marik exclaimed as they hurried out of the funeral home and to their vehicles. "He, Ishizu, and Rishid will be expecting us back. I really need to call and tell what happened, but then he'll want to come along."

"I sure will!" Mokuba cried, and everyone jumped a mile. The child was getting out of Ishizu's car and hurrying over, followed by Ishizu and Rishid.

"I had a feeling that something was wrong," Ishizu said in concern. "I was trying to talk to Rishid about it, but Mokuba overheard and insisted on coming, especially when we couldn't reach anyone on the phone."

Marik looked weary. "There was so much going on, I guess we didn't hear them ring," he realized. "I'm sorry, Sister."

"Where's Seto?!" Mokuba scanned the group with mounting alarm. "And Lector?!"

Marik sighed and laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "I'll tell you on the way, my friend," he said.

Téa waited until she was settled in Bakura's van, then pulled out her phone to call Yugi. Praying that it would work across dimensions again, she quickly dialed.

"Hi, Téa," Yugi answered. Static crackled on the line.

"Are you guys okay?!" Téa exclaimed.

"Yeah," Yugi said. "It does look like we're back in that same other world again, but when we got here, Graves and the other Big Five were already gone. We're looking all over for them now."

"Oh no," Téa moaned. "That poor other Lector. . . . Do you think his friends will hurt him when they're being controlled by Graves?!"

"I hope not," Yugi said.

"They're not gonna hurt him," Crump insisted. "Apparently they didn't hurt me; they just lifted me into that coffin after Graves hurt me. And when the other me grabbed Nesbitt, he just gently pushed him at me to distract me from grabbing him. Come on! If they don't hurt other versions of each other, they're not gonna hurt their own Lector, even under mind-control!"

"I hope you're right," Téa sighed. "Mr. Graves said it was worse than a regular mind-control, that he'd erased all memories of who they are. . . ."

"You don't really believe that, do you, Téa?" Joey retorted.

Téa started to smile. "No. Not if they love each other like our Big Five loves each other. Or us."

"Right," Yugi said. "Well, we're going to go to the Game Shop here and ask the other me and his friends to help us look."

"Oh good," Téa said. "We're all heading to the portal on the hill now, so hopefully we'll all make it there soon . . ."

She trailed off at the sound of a car screeching to a halt. "Pharaoh?!" came an all-too-familiar voice.

The static increased and the phone went dead.

"What was that?" Bakura asked in bewilderment.

". . . It was Kaiba," Téa said. "Only . . . I don't think it was our Kaiba. . . ."

"Oh dear," Bakura frowned. "Well, hopefully there won't be any trouble from that. . . ."

Yami Bakura was still eyeing the Game Master with suspicion. "The other Kaiba is likely the least of our problems," he remarked.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

In the other dimension, the alternate Seto Kaiba's limousine had pulled up in the middle of the road as the group was trying to head for the Game Shop. This other Seto was sheet-white as he stared at them all, or at one of them in particular.

"Oh brother, there really is another Kaiba!" Joey exclaimed.

Atem inwardly sighed to himself. "Hello, Kaiba."

"Mokuba told me about you, but I didn't know what to think." The other Seto stepped forward, all but ignoring his counterpart who was standing nearby. "You're actually from another dimension?"

"Yes," Atem said. "The portal currently connecting our worlds is on the hill leading into Domino Canyon."

". . . I can't even say that's insane, considering what my latest project is going to do," the other Seto said. "But if you're really not the Pharaoh from this world, then you are not the one I am trying to contact."

"You're trying to reach your world's Atem in the afterlife?!" Yugi gasped.

"Or wherever he is," the other Seto said. "And I'm going to do it. Just you wait and see."

The other Mokuba got out of the limousine too. "Where's Leichter?" he frowned. "He said he was going back to your world. . . ."

"A madman over there has captured his friends," Atem said grimly. "That's where they've been all this time, but we only found out tonight. Leichter found us and there was a fight. Then they escaped to over here."

"The other uses are being mind-controlled!" Crump said with indignation.

"We need to find them all as quickly as possible," Lector pleaded. "Will you help us search, Mr. Kaiba?"

The other Seto growled. ". . . If the information given to Mokuba was accurate, the Big Five here are only in this mess because they tried to save us."

"That's right," Gansley said.

"So you owe them your help," Nesbitt added.

The other Seto responded with narrowed eyes and, "For all I know, it was all lies."

The other Mokuba frowned. "But it was Yugi who said it. . . . Even if it's another Yugi, I'm sure we can trust him. . . ."

Yugi nodded. "I swear to you both that I was telling the truth."

The other Seto finally nodded. "I'll help you find them. Who is this madman?"

"Our world's version of Mr. Graves, a local funeral director," Yugi said worriedly. "He captured the Big Four in the first place because . . . well, he thinks they're going to inherit a lot of powerful magical objects, and he wants to be in control of them himself."

The other Seto snorted in derision. "Why would he think something ridiculous like that?"

"Perhaps we can talk about it later," Atem said. "Right now we really need to find them."

The other Seto climbed back into the limousine. "Then let's go, Mokuba."

The other Mokuba scrambled in after him.

"Thank you," Atem said with a relieved smile.

"Let's split up to cover more ground," Yugi said. "And we'll try to keep in touch with our phones."

"We'd better stay together, though," Lector said, "just in case we run into our counterparts."

Gansley nodded. "We'll stay together," he promised.

The other Mokuba leaned out the limousine window. "Here's the number for the car," he said, handing it to Yugi.

"Great," Yugi smiled. "Here's my number." He quickly wrote it out.

"And mine," Lector added, doing likewise.

The Big Five hurried off in one direction while the other Kaibas' limousine drove off in the opposite direction. Yugi, Atem, Joey, and Seto determined to keep heading to the Game Shop to get more help.

"That was pretty wild, wasn't it?" Joey exclaimed to Seto. "Seein' another version of yourself and all."

Seto just grunted. "I would _hope_ there would be another version of me when there's a Mokuba in this world," was all he would say.

xxxx

Leichter stumbled to a halt as the people he had been desperately chasing finally stopped in an alley. "What's here?" he asked.

"We're in back of the funeral home," Graves smirked. "Intriguing, isn't it? To think there's another me in there, or at my house!"

"You'll forgive me if I don't find it particularly exciting," Leichter spat. "But shouldn't you be worried? This other you could come out and want the candle holder just as you do."

"Well, I can always put him under my control," Graves replied with a wave of his hand. "Which is what I'll need to do with you."

"You'll never get me!" Leichter retorted. "I'll get your precious candle holder away from you and break your control over my friends! I won't believe they're gone."

"You'll have to if you get to that point," Graves dryly responded. "Without my commands they'll just be empty shells. They probably won't even be able to feed themselves!"

Leichter flinched. "If that's true," he said, his voice darkening with extreme danger, "then I will kill you and I will feel no regret."

Graves just laughed. "You know, I think you really would," he mocked. "But you have no means of escape anyway. I'll erase your mind and memories and you'll be just like them!" He held up the candle holder as it started to glow. "Hold him!" he ordered the Big Four.

Leichter took a step back, but his friends were on all sides. There was no escape. His heart pounded. Were they really going to let this happen? Were they truly that far gone?

Instead, the mind-controlled men started walking around him until they were all in front of him and blocking Graves' attempt to get to him. Graves swore in disbelief and anger, the candle holder's light fading. "What are you doing?!" he demanded. "Get out of the way!"

None of them spoke, if they even could right then, but their actions said everything Leichter needed to hear. "Thank you, my friends," he whispered. "Now I know you're all still here, no matter what he thinks. I promise you I'll save you!"

He turned and ran back down the alley. He would have to find a way to take Graves by surprise in order to get the candle holder from him. And he would absolutely do that.

Now he knew there was hope.

xxxx

Téa and the rest of her group were completely weirded out when they stepped through the portal and found themselves looking at another Domino City, but one that was still suffering the effects of the devastation from Yami Marik's heartless attack.

"Oh wow," Téa gasped. "This is horrible. . . ."

"It's awful to see the city like this," Serenity said quietly. She gripped Duke's hand. "I hope all the people are okay. . . ."

Duke gripped back. "I doubt everyone is," he frowned. That would be too much to expect with such a widespread disaster. "But at least hopefully all of our counterparts are."

Serenity sighed but nodded. "Yeah. . . ."

"And we don't have any idea where to go," Bakura worried. "Should we just spread out and go anywhere?"

"Maybe try calling Yugi again," Tristan suggested.

Téa picked up her phone to do just that. "Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed. "It's saying I'm not in range! I can call Yugi across dimensions, but when we're in the same dimension it suddenly won't work?!"

"The same dimension that neither of you belong in," Yami Bakura pointed out. "Perhaps one of you has to be in our home dimension for the connection to work."

"Maybe," Téa frowned. "That's still so weird, though."

The Game Master seemed tense as he looked around, instead of rejoicing in the devastation as might have seemed more likely. "Is the Landlord alright?" he finally asked.

Téa smiled a bit. "Yugi saw him when he was over here the last time. Yeah, he's fine."

"Probably doesn't want a thing to do with me," the Game Master remarked.

"I . . . couldn't say about that," Téa admitted. "You'd have to ask Yugi. Or your, um . . . er, the other Bakura."

"Oh no," another voice whispered. "It's true. . . . You're back. . . ."

Everyone jumped. This world's Bakura was standing near them on the sidewalk, sheet-white.

Yami Bakura could feel the Game Master tensing up more next to him. "He's afraid of you," he said under his breath. "He feels you betrayed him. If you have truly changed, let him know." He wasn't sure how well it would go, especially when the Game Master still clearly had a warped view of their past, but now the situation had been thrust upon them and they had to deal with it.

The Game Master growled. "How can I say I'm sorry if I'm not?"

"Are you sorry he fears you?" Yami Bakura countered. "Are you sorry you lied to him for your own selfish goals?"

The Game Master looked away. "Yes. . . ."

"Then it's a start. Tell him." Yami Bakura folded his arms, wishing they could find the others and save the Big Five's counterparts before anything else went wrong. He really didn't trust this other him. He could hardly expect the other Bakura could.

Finally the Game Master stepped forward. "Landlord . . . I . . ." He looked away, staring at the ground. "I actually did like you. Something about you reminded me of myself . . . and my sister. . . . I wanted to help you. But I also wanted to accomplish the goals I'd waited for millennia to enact. I thought I was Zorc himself. The closer we got to those goals, the more I believed it. And I manipulated you in order to achieve Zorc's and my goals."

"You lied to me too many times," Ryou shot back. "You even got me to allow you to possess me by telling me you wanted to help my friends! You didn't want to help them!" He clenched a fist. "I thought I was finally free of you, but they told me you were in their dimension. Now you're here again. What are you going to do?"

"I . . . don't know," the Game Master admitted.

"Surely you're not going to help find the Big Five," Ryou said.

"I'm just along for the ride," the Game Master said.

At last Bakura decided to speak. "He has helped, though," he said. "I know it can't be easy to forgive or trust after everything he put you through. It hasn't been easy for us either, and we didn't have to deal with him constantly like you did. But . . . maybe you could at least consider it?"

"You already forgave and started to trust your own Yami Bakura," Ryou said. "It can't have been that hard for you to try it out on another one."

"It took forever with ours," Tristan spoke up. "And yours is a lot more twisted, so it's hard for us too. But circumstances are kind of forcing us to trust him a little bit."

Ryou frowned. "You're right," he said. "Right now we should focus on finding those poor men. Yugi told me they're being cruelly controlled and we have to stop it. But once that's done . . . I don't know what's next." He looked to Bakura. "Maybe I could talk to you in private?"

"Of course," Bakura smiled at him.

xxxx

Lector didn't know how long they had been searching for their counterparts. It was still night, but it seemed so long that they had been aimlessly searching that he wouldn't be surprised if it was close to dawn. He took out his phone to look.

"Where are they?" Nesbitt fretted next to him. "We've torn the city apart and still nothing!"

"Obviously we're overlooking something," Gansley said. "Would Mr. Graves take them to this world's version of the funeral home?"

"That's crazy!" Crump objected. "There's another version of him here too!"

"Maybe he'd try to join forces with him?" Johnson suggested.

"Or mind-control him too," Lector said.

They all looked at each other.

"The man was demented enough that I wouldn't honestly put it past him," Gansley said at last.

Lector frowned and moved to contact Yugi, but was halted by the same message that Téa had received. "I'm out of range?!" he said in disbelief.

"Try the limousine number," Nesbitt suggested.

Lector tried, and was surprised when it actually connected. "Hey, Lector," the other Mokuba greeted. "What's going on?"

"We've been everywhere with no success," Lector said. "We're wondering now if they would go to this world's version of the funeral home."

The other Mokuba snorted. "The guy would have to be crazy. I guess he probably is, though. It's worth a try."

"Maybe you can contact Yugi and let him know?" Lector said. "For some reason, I can't call him."

"Okay. Be careful," the other Mokuba said.

By the time the Big Five were arriving at the funeral home, the limousine was pulling up too. And soon after it came Yugi's group and Téa's group, from different directions.

"Guys!" Téa exclaimed in relief. "You're all here safe!"

The limousine door opened and the alternate Kaiba brothers got out. The other Seto looked Téa up and down and then away.

"Um . . . hi," Téa greeted him and his Mokuba. In this world, she supposed, Seto hadn't become part of the group . . . at least not yet.

By now both Setos were staring at each other. Earlier, the alternate Seto had been more interested in Atem. Now, he finally seemed to really be focusing on the fact that there was another him when he hadn't paid attention to that before.

Mokuba ran over to them from Téa's group. "Seto!" he exclaimed.

Both Setos looked to him. "Mokuba," they said in unison.

Mokuba ran to his Seto and hugged him close. "I'm so glad you're safe. . . ."

Seto stared at Mokuba as he returned the embrace. "How did you get here, Mokuba?!" he demanded. "You were supposed to stay with Ishizu and Rishid!"

"I couldn't stay back once I knew things were going wrong," Mokuba protested.

"How'd he know which one was the right Kaiba?" Joey blinked.

"Aside from the fact that the one in this world is the one who would have his limousine, why wouldn't he know?" Téa countered.

Finally Seto pulled back, knowing they needed to hurry. "Let's get this over with," he said.

"Oh yeah!" Joey lunged towards the front doors of the funeral home.

"Wait, Joey!" Serenity exclaimed. "Are you sure running in there is the best idea?"

Duke nodded. "It would be better to surprise the jerk and go in a side door."

A nearby tree rustled and Leichter dropped down in their midst. "I agree," he said, even as Joey yelped from the shock of their sudden visitor.

"You got away?!" Crump exclaimed in surprise.

Leichter nodded. "Because my friends saved me. I know they're not gone! Mr. Graves couldn't erase their true selves!"

"Of course he couldn't," Atem smiled. "Alright, let's go in. But he may be waiting for us, no matter which door we take. He surely knows you'll come back."

"If he doesn't, he soon will," Leichter said darkly.

It wasn't much of a surprise to find the side door unlocked, but it did serve to make the entire group tense and disturbed. They were definitely expected; there was no other reason why the door would have been left open in the middle of the night.

"Where is that creep?" Joey half-quavered. He certainly didn't want to run into any more dead bodies tonight by opening the wrong door.

"Why, I'm right here," came Graves' cruel voice. Again the lights came on, revealing him standing with the alternate Big Four. Just as before, they looked dead-eyed and blank. "Apparently the other me is at home tonight, but that's just as well. I don't really want to share, and mind-controlling myself would be . . . strange. Unlike mind-controlling these pathetic fools."

"You let them go!" Leichter spat. "You don't have control over them! They wouldn't obey you and hold me down so you could hurt me!"

"A minor setback," Graves retorted. He sneered as he held up the candle holder. "I have corrected that by forcing my will over them much more. They will never break free again now."

"You really expect us to believe that?" Crump snorted. "They're always gonna break free! I mean, you told us you'd erased their souls before! Obviously you didn't! There's no way we'll believe you did it now!"

"Well, let's find out," Graves grinned. He nodded to the alternate Big Four. "Attack them."

The controlled men stepped forward threateningly, looming over the group. The alternate Crump shoved Joey out of the way, where he slammed into the wall with a cry. The alternate Nesbitt moved to do the same with Leichter but stopped, just staring at him instead.

"Nesbitt," Leichter whispered. He ran past his friends and leaped on Graves, bringing him to the floor. "You see?!" he cried. "You can't take away who they are! They're not going to hurt me! And now I'm going to save them!" He reached for the candle holder.

Graves responded by hitting him hard with it on the upper arm. "You'll do no such thing!"

The group ran over, pushing past the alternate Big Four as once again they stood like statues. "Be careful!" Yugi exclaimed to Leichter.

Lector was hurrying over to try to help his counterpart, as were his Big Four. But they weren't fast enough to stop what unfolded.

At last Leichter got his hands around the object. "Give it up!" he roared, giving a mighty yank.

Graves pulled back. At the same moment, his eyes flashed with cruelty and danger. A blast shot out from the candle holder, striking Leichter in the chest. He cried out as he flew halfway across the room before crashing to the floor in a heap and laying still.

"Oh my gosh!" Téa cried.

"Leichter?!" the alternate Mokuba screamed.

Crump ran over and shook him. "Hey, wake up!" he exclaimed. "Come on!"

But Leichter was still.

That was the final straw for Nesbitt. While Graves was still distracted, reveling in his heartless act, Nesbitt wrenched the candle holder away from him and struck him harshly with it. Graves fell to the floor, stunned.

"I may not know how to activate this thing's power, but I can still use it as a weapon!" Nesbitt roared. "And now you're going to find out just how much it can hurt!" He hit his nemesis again and again, shouting and cursing. Graves yelled in pain, throwing his hands up to protect himself while trying to grab for the coveted object.

It was hard for the group to fault Nesbitt or even to try to get him to stop, at least at first. Graves deserved to be beaten up to some extent, after all he had done without remorse. But when Nesbitt showed no signs of stopping, they started to get worried for his sake.

"Nesbitt!" Lector exclaimed. "You have to stop!"

Nesbitt didn't. "He took their Lector away!" he screamed. "All he wanted was to have his friends back, and now he can't! And if they come out of this mind-control, they'll find him just laying there!" He raised the candle holder to deliver what would probably be a final blow.

Gansley knocked the candle holder away with his cane, sending it spinning across the floor to land at Lector's feet. "That's enough, Nesbitt," he said.

"It's never enough," Nesbitt snarled. He thrust Graves from him and just knelt there, digging his hands into his hair as he trembled. Johnson hurried to him and knelt down, laying his hands on Nesbitt's shoulders.

From Gansley's eyes, he really felt the same. "You can't sue us," he said coldly to Graves, who was shaking now. "You'd have to tell that you drove Nesbitt to his snapping point when you tried to murder Lector. Or even better—tell the truth that you tried to murder another version of Lector."

"H-Hey. . . ." Crump had Leichter in his arms now, cradling him close. "He's . . . he's not . . . well, I was hoping Nesbitt was overreacting, but I'm not sure it _was_ just 'trying. . . .'"

The color drained from Gansley's face. "No. . . ."

The other Nesbitt's hand suddenly jerked. "Leichter?" he rasped. He blinked, the dead look disappearing from his eyes. He was awake and alert.

The other Gansley, Crump, and Johnson followed suit, coming to life as they ran to him with one accord. His hands badly trembling, Crump passed Leichter's body to them and rocked back, looking up at his Lector to assure himself that the man was alive and well. Lector was just standing stock-still, frozen in place from horror. He hadn't even picked up the candle holder at his feet.

The other Nesbitt ran over and crashed to his knees with a bone-chilling scream. "_Leichter! _You have to wake up! _You have to!_" He swore helplessly, gripping Leichter's shoulder.

Tears filled Serenity's eyes. "This can't be how it ends!" she exclaimed. "It can't be!"

Lector looked to Graves, who was quaking in a corner, traumatized by Nesbitt's rage. "You monster!" he spat. "You couldn't just let them reunite, could you?! You had to do something to keep them apart! Haven't they suffered enough?!" He took a menacing step forward.

Graves pressed himself against the wall in terror. "The others . . . I thought they were gone . . . empty shells! I didn't know they could come back from . . . from what I did. . . . I didn't even release them! . . ."

"You can't destroy souls," Atem said darkly. "No matter what you thought you'd done to their memories, they lived on. Your heartless assault on their Lector broke through to them."

"But it looks like he can destroy hearts," Marik added as his stomach turned. "They'll never get over this. . . ."

"Maybe it's not too late," Téa protested. "When it was some kind of a magic blast, maybe he's not dead. . . ."

"Come on!" the other Mokuba wailed. "You have to wake up or . . . or I'll never forgive you!" Tears were in his eyes, but he blinked them away. "I was just starting to like you . . . when I always should've. . . ."

The other Gansley cradled him close. "Leichter," he whispered. "I never told you, but I loved you like my own son. . . ." He shut his eyes tightly, but the tears still leaked out. "You've all been like my sons. . . ."

Lector had to look away. It felt too private for everyone to be watching this. He himself considered Gansley like his father, but had always felt too awkward or embarrassed to tell him. Could his Gansley feel the same about him as this other Gansley did about his? And was it too late for these others? Lector couldn't really focus on thinking about his relationship with Gansley when their counterparts were in such a heartbreaking situation.

The other Crump and Johnson were speaking softly to Leichter now as well. The other Nesbitt, on the other hand, couldn't seem to pull himself together enough to even choke out a sentence. He finally just snarled and slammed his fist into the floor.

The fingers on Leichter's left hand finally twitched.

Joey flinched. "That's not . . . ?!"

"It's too soon for that," Yami Bakura told him. "He's still alive."

"He must have been fighting to live all this time," Atem said with a smile. "Although I'm sure his friends coming back to him helped a great deal with that."

Leichter gave a weak moan and his eyes slowly opened. ". . . Nesbitt? . . . Gansley? . . . Everyone? . . . You're alive? You . . . know me?" He stared up at them in awe.

They looked back in equal awe. "Leichter!" they exclaimed in unison. Immediately they drew him close in a group hug.

"We thought you were gone," the other Nesbitt choked out.

"I've thought that about all of you," Leichter said. "That's what I've thought for weeks. . . ." He clutched them all close. "My dear friends. . . . I never told you how much I love you. . . ."

"We know," the other Gansley smiled. "We've always known."

Atem smiled. "No, Marik, Mr. Graves couldn't destroy hearts either."

"Oh, thank goodness," Serenity breathed.

"And you will not be allowed to try to resume your reign of terror," Atem continued, glowering at the beaten Graves. "Mind Crush!"

The Infinity Puzzle glowed and Graves' eyes went blank. He fell backwards on the floor, unconscious.

"You think that'll really improve him any?" Joey looked doubtful.

"Anything's worth a try," Yugi sighed.

The Big Five started to relax.

"So everything's okay," Crump said in awed amazement. He got to his feet.

Lector placed an arm around him and one around Nesbitt and hugged them both, then reached for Gansley and Johnson. "Yes, everything's alright," he said with joy.

And somehow, he didn't think he would be sleepwalking again.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Once Leichter felt well enough to try to stand and walk out of the funeral home with the help of his friends, he immediately wanted to turn his attention to another problem. As much as he was rejoicing over having his friends back, there was still something else that needed to be fixed.

"Now that I have all of you back, I have to try again to save Evangeline," he said.

"Do you think you can right now?" Crump worried. "I mean, I thought the idea was to see if you could get some good publicity and that'd turn public opinion to your side."

"Even if we get good publicity here, there's no guarantee it will extend to New Orleans," Leichter pointed out. "There has to be something we can do regardless."

The alternate Seto frowned. "What's the problem about your sister?"

"My father is keeping her locked in the house so she can't have anything to do with me," Leichter said. "She's never allowed out!"

". . . We could try to help, couldn't we, Seto?" the alternate Mokuba asked, looking up at his Seto.

"I don't like to get involved in problems like that, but I also don't like the sound of what's happening to that girl," the alternate Seto said. "Yes, I'll do what I can to help you get her free of your father's control and imprisonment, Leichter."

Leichter stared at him. "Thank you, Mr. Kaiba. . . . So much. . . ."

"We do owe all of you for trying to save us," the alternate Seto awkwardly replied. "If that was really what happened."

"It was," the alternate Gansley insisted.

"So, are we going down there now?" the alternate Crump asked.

"I have another idea." The alternate Seto opened the door of his limousine and climbed inside. "I'll make a few phone calls and see if I can get the authorities to do something about it right now, instead of waiting for us to fly down there. I can have Evangeline sent up here, if they're able to free her."

"I don't know if she'll want to leave New Orleans," Leichter realized in chagrin. "But I would most certainly be willing to take her in."

". . . Is she a minor?" the alternate Seto suddenly asked in mid-dial.

"No, she's 23," Leichter replied.

"Then that should help," the alternate Seto mused. "She has the right to live wherever she wants."

Leichter stumbled and his friends tried to steady him. The alternate Mokuba watched, biting his lip, and pushed another of the limousine's doors open. "You need to rest," he said. "Come on and sit down. We won't bite . . . anymore," he added, frowning as he shamefully looked at the floor.

"Thank you, Mokuba," Leichter quietly replied. The others eased him inside and then followed him in, sitting around him. He gripped at their hands, still trying to fully convince himself that they were really here and alive.

The others mostly stood around outside, worrying and waiting.

"Do you really think Kaiba can fix this?" Joey wondered.

"I'm sure he can," Téa insisted. "It seems like everyone listens to Kaiba in our world. It's probably the same here."

The other Yugi and his friends came running up now. "What's happening?" the other Yugi breathlessly asked. "Are we too late to help?"

"They're all okay now," Yugi smiled at him. "But I know your Big Five will appreciate that you've been looking all over for them and trying to help."

"Right now, Kaiba's tryin' to get Evangeline free," Joey said.

"He'd better," the alternate Téa declared. "It's horrible, what's happening to her!"

"Have you ever met her?" Serenity curiously asked.

"No, but Leichter talked about it," the alternate Tristan said. "We just didn't know what we could do to help her."

Tristan shifted. Part of him still wanted to ask whether the Serenity here had chosen a boyfriend, but with both Serenity and Duke right here, he knew it would be tactless. He didn't want to cause any more trouble and heartache than he already had, so he opted to stay quiet.

It was some time before the alternate Seto hung up at last and looked to everyone. "The F.B.I. raided the home and got her out," he reported.

"Is she alright?" Leichter demanded.

"She's very shaken up," the alternate Seto told him. "And she _will_ come out to you. The F.B.I. is escorting her to the airport and your father is under arrest for holding her against her will."

"We need to go to the airport to meet her," Leichter said.

"You need to rest," the alternate Nesbitt objected. "We can go."

"No. I want to be with you," Leichter insisted. "I've thought you were lost to me for too long."

"We can come too," Crump said. "We wanna see that she's okay."

Lector nodded in agreement. "If that's no trouble," he quickly added, looking to the alternate Seto.

"It's fine," he grunted.

"Thank you so much, both of you," Leichter said, looking to the alternate Kaiba brothers. "I tried so many times to get the police or even the F.B.I. to listen to me, but because of my father's influence in the city, they refused."

"That will change," the alternate Seto vowed. "Now that the man's madness is clear, people should start recognizing that you were telling the truth all along."

"I never thought you would do all this for us, even to repay a debt," Leichter said.

"We've each misunderstood the other," the alternate Seto said.

"But a lot of things are changing now," the alternate Yugi smiled. "And definitely for the better."

Everyone agreed.

xxxx

There were still things to work out before Yugi and everyone would go back through the portal to their own dimension. This world's Bakura wanted to speak with his counterpart for advice on what to do about the Game Master. Both Big Fives were going to the airport to get the alternate Evangeline. And the news needed to be broken to Yami Bakura and Bakura about the details of the disaster that had befallen this other dimension and what it might mean for their own world.

Now that the current calamity was past, Yami Bakura was wondering about that himself. "How could that demon have done all this damage by himself?" he growled as he stood looking at the view from the Turtle Game Shop. Daylight was coming on, revealing the damaged buildings far more hauntingly.

Atem sighed. "He wasn't by himself. Apparently this world's Yami Marik joined forces with Zorc."

He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he was expecting. If it was a tremendous explosion, he didn't get it. Instead, Yami Bakura just went a bit more stiff. "So he _did_ survive," he whispered.

"You suspected," Atem realized.

Yami Bakura nodded. "I've thought about it for months. Since that demon was created from the darkness in Marik's heart and he has survived, what would have prevented a being created from the darkness in every heart from surviving? How can Zorc ever truly be destroyed unless there comes a day when people have no darkness in their hearts?"

Atem sighed. "That's what this Zorc himself said, but it's a highly disturbing thought. I believed Zorc was gone." He hesitated. "Now we wonder if this alliance will happen in our world as well . . . and if that's the battle Shadi has saved you for all along."

Yami Bakura gave a dry laugh. "I would hardly be surprised. But I am a being of darkness as well. How could I possibly defeat Zorc?"

"By unleashing the full power of the Infinity Ring," Atem said. "Shadi told the Yugi here that the chosen wielder will be able to unlock its full power and use it against Zorc for a much longer period of time than this other Yugi was able to. In the absence of the true Item holder, he had to use it to temporarily seal Zorc and Yami Marik away."

"And if the Game Master is the true Item holder in this dimension?" Yami Bakura didn't look impressed. "This world is doomed."

Atem allowed a smirk. "That was what you believed about our world when you were given the Infinity Ring. And we seem to be surviving alright so far."

"Miraculously," Yami Bakura grunted. "And anyway, unless this world's Bakura or someone else takes pity on the Game Master, he has nowhere to even go."

"I know," Atem sighed. "And as long as the portal stays open he can cross back to our world. I suppose that's not a problem as long as he plays nice, though. . . ."

"I still don't trust him," Yami Bakura said.

"I don't entirely trust him either," Atem agreed. "But his cooperation during this misadventure is certainly a step in the right direction."

"I suppose," Yami Bakura said noncommittally. "He could just be biding his time, you know. I played nice too, when it suited me."

"I know, but I have to hope he's made some progress," Atem said. "He's awake and there's nothing more that can be done to restrain him."

"More's the pity," Yami Bakura grunted. "Since he's me and I know myself, I can be even more wary of him."

"Except you believed yourself to be hopeless as well, and you weren't," Atem said.

That silenced Yami Bakura.

xxxx

The alternate Seto and Mokuba were taking both Big Fives to the airport.

"Are all of you really alright?" Lector asked his Big Four in concern. "You were so haunted holding that other me, Crump, and Nesbitt, you just completely lost control of yourself."

"And you were so shook up you couldn't even move," Crump countered. "I think we all got pretty badly affected by what happened, Buddy." He gave a shaking sigh. "And yeah, it really was pretty hard to deal with, holding that other poor Lector. It was really upsetting, what happened to him, and then I couldn't stop thinking about how that could've been you I was holding." He shuddered. "In any case, I was holding _a_ Lector and thought he was dead, and that was awful enough."

"And I was also thinking how it could have been you who got blasted," Nesbitt admitted to Lector. "Even though I was enraged enough about it being the other Lector."

Lector laid his hands on their shoulders. "I am so sorry. I wish I'd been able to be there more for you . . . all of you. . . ." He frowned. "I'm always thinking about trying to hold it together, but I don't do enough with instigating conversations between us and trying to help any of you when you have problems."

"You do a lot with that," Nesbitt said gruffly. "It was our turn to try to help you."

"Do you really think we've solved the mystery?" Johnson wondered. "No more sleepwalking?"

"Well, we won't know for sure until Lector is asleep again," Gansley pointed out, "but I think it seems plausible, at least."

"I rather hope the explanation really is that I was subconsciously trying to find this other Big Four," Lector said. "It's a whole lot more satisfying than thinking I bottle up my pain so badly that it comes out as me running around catching local criminals in my sleep."

"No kidding," Crump exclaimed.

The limousine pulled up in front of the airport.

"We're here," the alternate Seto announced.

"Thank you, Mr. Kaiba," Leichter said. He looked to Lector and the rest. "And thank you for everything you did to try to help us out. Things could have turned out so differently if not for all of you and everyone else from your world." His voice caught. "My Big Four would probably still be mind-controlled and I wouldn't have any idea."

"Or you could be laying dead!" Crump shuddered.

"But thankfully, you're not," the alternate Gansley said.

"And now we're all together again," the alternate Johnson said.

". . . I'm glad you guys are okay," the alternate Mokuba said.

"And I appreciate your kindness, Mokuba," Leichter told him.

"You could've been enjoying Leichter's kindness all along," the alternate Crump said.

"I know," the alternate Mokuba sighed. "But I finally am now, so . . . better late than never, I guess?"

"Yes," Leichter said.

"It's pretty crazy knowing we have other versions of ourselves who helped bring us back together," the alternate Crump exclaimed to the Big Five.

"We all wanted to do it," Gansley said with a gruff smile.

"If the portal stays open, maybe we can all get together sometime soon and just visit," Leichter said.

"We'll see," Gansley said. "Right now I'm sure you all want to talk amongst each other . . . and with Evangeline."

"Yes," the alternate Gansley agreed.

With the alternate Seto's connections, he was able to take the limousine all the way out to the runway to wait for the airplane. It arrived on time and the passengers began to disembark. Despite still being wobbly, Leichter insisted on getting out of the car to look for her. Everyone else quickly followed.

"There she is!" Leichter exclaimed after a moment. "Evangeline!"

The alternate Evangeline started and turned to look at him from the stairs. "Démas!" she called with a wave.

Lector stared as the girl hurried down the steps. "She seems so frail," he said in horror. "How long was she trapped?"

"Far too long," Leichter said, an edge creeping into his voice.

The alternate Evangeline hadn't been told of the two sets of Big Fives, but even so, she ran straight to her Leichter instead of mistaking his counterpart for the one she knew. "Démas! Oh Démas. . . ." She hugged him close. "I'm so glad to be free of that horrible place. . . ." She shuddered. "I always loved our family home, but now it's more like a prison!"

Leichter held her close to him. "I promise you will never have to go back, Evangeline," he said.

"I've missed you so much. . . ." She burrowed against his shoulder but then stiffened. "Why, you're shaking! You're hurt!" She looked up at him. "What happened?!"

"I'm alright," Leichter insisted. "I just need to rest for a while."

"We can talk about it in the car," the other Gansley said. He laid a hand on Leichter's shoulder, hoping to ease him down.

Leichter went willingly, his Evangeline scrambling in after him. It was only once everyone was in the vehicle that she really noticed the second set of Big Five. She sat, blinking, staring at them. "Well . . . my goodness," she gasped. "Who are you?"

"We're from another dimension," Lector said. "I know how that must sound, but it's the truth." He smiled. "I'm your brother in that world."

Instead of expressing disbelief, the other Evangeline smiled. "This must be an amazing story! I can hardly wait to hear it!"

"You can accept it just like that?" Nesbitt said, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," the other Evangeline said. "I should know my own brother, shouldn't I?" She laced her fingers around Leichter's.

"Yes," Lector mused, "I suppose you should."

xxxx

Bakura felt awkward. He really wasn't sure what to say or how to even begin. Even though both he and this other Bakura had experienced their own Yami Bakuras, their experiences were different enough that Bakura felt he wouldn't be much help. More and more as he listened to Ryou tell his story, he was grateful that his experiences hadn't been as terrible, for the most part, and that his Yami hadn't been nearly as twisted. But it also seemed less and less likely that he would know what to say that could really help.

"What do you do with someone who thinks he's helping you when he does things like put the souls of your friends into game pieces so they'll always be with you?!" Ryou exclaimed.

"I . . . I really don't know," Bakura had to admit. "Yami didn't do that . . . although once he put us into the game just for his own amusement. . . ." He shifted. "If your Yami at least isn't dangerous now . . ."

"That's just it!" Ryou broke in. "How do I know he's not? Okay, he doesn't want to conquer the world now, and he finally remembers he's not Zorc, but . . . I think he still thinks he was helping me when he did horrible things like that! How can I trust he won't do it again?"

"You can't," Bakura said. "But you need to have a heart-to-heart talk with him and lay down some ground rules if he's going to stay here. And he will have to agree to abide by them. That's what we did in my world. And . . . well . . . it was hard at first, and frightening, but I had to try to trust him to cooperate. When I gave him a little trust, I found he didn't abuse it. He wanted to do the right thing by me and not ruin what we were trying to begin." He smiled a bit. "Remember too that you have a certain amount of power over him that you didn't before—you each have your own body. He can't suddenly take control of you anymore."

"That's true," Ryou mused. He sighed. "I guess I _will_ have to have him with me. . . . I'd rather be able to keep an eye on him and know better what he's up to."

Bakura laid a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck," he said sincerely.

Ryou managed a smile and walked over to where the Game Master was awkwardly waiting and looking out the window at Atem and Yami Bakura. "Yami?" he asked.

The Game Master turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

"We need to talk," Ryou said.

The Game Master slowly nodded. "Alright."

Observing from across the room, Tristan heaved a sigh. "We . . . really need to do that too," he said to Duke. "You tried and I messed up big time. I didn't want to hear anything you had to say or have anything to do with you. And . . . I was really being a first-class jerk."

"I can't deny that," Duke said with a small smirk. He sobered. "But . . . you had some good points too."

"I asked Gansley if he would moderate a talk between us, just in case things started getting out of hand again," Tristan said. "Maybe after we get back home and have a chance to rest up from all of this craziness, we could get together?"

Duke nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that."

Yugi smiled. "Well, it looks like everything is starting to get back to normal," he said.

The other Yugi sighed. "Yeah. . . . You don't think there's any chance that my Atem will come back, do you?"

Yugi sobered. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I don't think you should count him out. I'm sure he misses you."

"But . . . being with the spirits is where he belongs," the other Yugi said. He frowned and shook his head. "It feels hollow saying that, though."

Atem gave him a kind smile. "Yugi and I tried saying that too, but we finally allowed ourselves to accept that it wasn't what either of us wanted."

"So there really might still be hope?" The other Yugi perked up at last. "I'd like to believe that. . . ."

"With close friends, there is always hope," Atem said.

"Thank you," the other Yugi said softly. He looked over at the Bakuras. "And I wonder what I should do about the Infinity Ring. . . ."

"I think you should just hold onto it unless Shadi comes back and tells you it needs to go to Yami Bakura," Yugi said. "We don't know for sure that he's supposed to use it in this world."

"That's a good point," the other Yugi said with a weak smile. "So . . . you guys are all going home now, I guess. . . ."

Yugi nodded. "When the Big Fives get back with Evangeline. But if the portal stays open, we'll try to check in and visit. You could come visit our world too."

"Yeah!" Téa smiled.

"We still don't know why the portal is open in the first place," Atem said in concern.

"We don't really need to close it, though, do we?" Mokuba asked.

"I suppose not," Atem said. Although part of him did worry at the thought of the alternate Yami Marik and Zorc getting free and coming through the portal to their world. But on the other hand, the people in this world were now their friends. Maybe someday they would all need to fight Yami Marik and Zorc together.

Joey was about to join in on the conversation when he saw Mai standing apart from the others, looking awkward and sad. Frowning, he walked over to her. "What's up, Mai?"

She sighed. "Do you remember how the Game Master told us that the Mai here hadn't fallen prey to Dartz?"

"From what I heard, Dartz hasn't even attacked in this world . . . yet," Joey retorted. "And Mai hasn't been seen or heard from since Battle City. Actually, I should go tell the other me to track her down. If I'd tried to find you after you left, maybe you wouldn't have fallen in with Dartz either. I still blame myself, Mai, not you."

Mai sighed and shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, Joey. You couldn't help that you didn't know how I was feeling deep down. I hid it pretty well. And I didn't know myself how badly Yami Marik had affected me until I was on my own and still felt so empty inside."

"Well, I'd better talk to the other me," Joey said. "Maybe that Mai is falling in with Dartz right now, or maybe she won't if the other me catches her in time!" He laid a hand on Mai's shoulder and hurried off to locate the other Joey.

Mai frowned to herself. It sounded awful, but she almost wondered if part of her wanted to know that her counterpart had fallen prey to Dartz too. Then at least she wouldn't have to feel like even another version of herself had been stronger than that.

The front door opened and Atem and Yami Bakura stepped inside, followed by both Big Fives, the alternate Kaiba brothers, and the alternate Evangeline. "We're back!" Crump called. "Here she is!"

The alternate Evangeline looked around at the large group in awe. "So many new friends," she said. "And from two worlds! I hope I'll get the chance to get to know all of you!"

"We hope so too," the alternate Yugi smiled. "We're really glad you're safe, Evangeline. We've all been worried."

"We sure have," Téa agreed.

For a while everyone stayed to socialize and make sure Evangeline was settling in. But as it became clear that all would be well, it started to fully hit the visitors how exhausted they were.

"Well, I think we'd all better get going," Yugi said. He smiled at his counterpart. "Good luck."

"You too," the other Yugi replied. "It sounds like you guys have a lot of trouble in your world."

"You do too, judging from what the city looks like right now," Mai remarked.

Mokuba looked to the other Yugi. "Are you guys gonna do something to try to honor your Big Five or thank them for trying to help when Yami Marik messed everything up?"

"I'd like to," the other Yugi agreed. "I hope that we'll all be able to welcome them in as our friends, just like you guys have."

"Then I'm sure you will," Yugi smiled.

Goodbyes were exchanged all around and the group set out to walk back to the hill and the portal.

"It's too bad we can't fit our cars through that thing," Joey remarked.

"Grampa would say the walk would do us good," Yugi said.

"Maybe so, but we've been doin' a lot of walkin' and runnin' and fightin' and now I'd just like to rest!" Joey exclaimed.

"Not to mention, I have to carry this guy!" Tristan complained, shifting the unconscious form of Mr. Graves on his back.

"Well, in any case, we're all missing school," Téa groaned.

"None of us have had any sleep," Duke pointed out. "We'd be useless in class."

"Yeah, Joey would probably doze off and drool all over the desk," Tristan smirked.

"_WHAT?!"_ Joey snapped. "I would not!"

"And talk about giant donuts," Téa laughed.

"I get no respect! It's not like you guys wouldn't fall asleep too!" Joey shot back.

"Oh, they're just having a good-natured tease," Serenity smiled.

"Although it should have been obvious long ago that Mr. Wheeler doesn't like to be teased," Lector said.

That brought a chagrined silence. Indeed, everyone knew it, but it was such fun to push Joey's buttons that they often couldn't resist. It was all in good fun to them and none of them meant any harm, but it wasn't fun for Joey regardless.

Joey gave Lector a surprised but grateful look. It might not change anything in the long term, but it was appreciated anyway.

Lector nodded back in acknowledgment.

"Hey! Hey, guys!"

Everyone turned. The alternate Mokuba was running over to them.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto asked.

"We were all talking and we decided we can't let you walk all over town like this," the alternate Mokuba said. "You've all done so much for us! So we're gonna use several of our vehicles to help you get back to the portal!"

"Great!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Thanks a lot, Mokuba," Téa said in relief.

"Yeah," Yugi said. "It really is a long walk."

"Especially after bein' up all night," Joey added.

It was nice to get to have a little more time with some of their new friends as they traveled to the portal in the alternate Kaiba limo, the alternate Solomon's truck, and the alternate Duke's car. The Goodbyes were still bittersweet, but all hoped that this would not be their last meeting. And somehow, Yugi felt as they all stepped through to their world, it wouldn't be.


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was a relief for everyone that they returned through the portal safely and Mr. Graves was soon placed in Seto's medical center. The rest of the morning and some of the afternoon was spent sleeping, as everyone was completely exhausted.

Lector finally stirred and sleepily blinked around his room as he pushed the quilt back. Again he hadn't sleepwalked. Apparently he had never done it every day, so there was still the worry that maybe he still would, but he wanted with all his heart to believe that he had done it while looking for the alternate Big Four and that now with them safe, there was no need for any more of it.

He slowly got out of bed and made his way to the door into the hall. He nearly walked into Nesbitt coming out of his room.

"You're safe," Nesbitt said in relief.

"No more sleepwalking . . . I hope," Lector added.

Nesbitt shifted awkwardly. "I'd wanted to stay over one more time to try to make sure, but Gansley thought that the only real way to test what you'd do would be if you were in the room alone."

"Probably right," Lector mused. "Although since I never sleepwalked every night, maybe it could still happen."

"You know, if we figure out the days when you didn't go out, maybe we'd find that those days were when the other Lector was over here or even when a faker was running around," Crump suggested as he came into the hall. "And maybe you didn't go out then because subconsciously you figured they'd be taking over the search and would find the other Big Four."

"Maybe," Lector said.

"We'll keep watch on you to make sure it doesn't happen again," Johnson promised as he came out too.

"Where's Gansley?" Lector wondered.

"Downstairs," Nesbitt replied. "Finally about to moderate that talk between Tristan and Duke."

"I hope they're going to be able to patch things up," Lector said in concern.

"Hey, they both finally want to try, and they admit it, so I think they've got a good chance," Crump said.

"I guess the city will really miss the Purple Avenger if he no longer comes around," Johnson remarked.

"That's not a good joke," Nesbitt scowled.

"I'm serious," Johnson said. "The two Lectors really did a good job of cleaning up the city."

Lector finally smirked a bit. "Well, be that as it may, I am not a vigilante and I am more than happy to bow out."

"Good deal," Crump chirped.

They all headed downstairs, where Tristan and Duke were settling into the living room and Gansley was leaning back on the couch, watching them.

"Alright," Gansley said. "Now, each of you should _calmly_ express his feelings."

"I'll go first," Duke said. "Tristan, let me just say that you had a point."

Tristan rocked back, blinking in surprise. "I did?"

Duke nodded. "When you said a friend wouldn't steal another friend's girl. I honestly didn't see it that Serenity was your girl, but . . . if I'd really thought of you as a friend I wouldn't have barged in like I did anyway, at least not without talking to you first to get an idea of where you stood with her. I saw she was special and I was arrogant and wanted her, especially when I could tell she saw you as a friend or a brother. I did do the wrong thing by you. I'm sorry."

Tristan stared at him, for a moment lost in his surprise. But then he shook his head and looked away. "Duke. . . . I've just been fooling myself and letting it eat me up inside. I knew Serenity didn't see me like I hoped, but I kept hoping she'd change her mind. I don't know if I'll ever not hope that . . . and yet I see how good she's been for you and I don't want you to be unhappy when she's done so much for you. And I guess . . . you've helped her too. I didn't want to see it, but she's really blossomed because you didn't shelter her." He heaved a sigh. "I was a jerk to you in front of the entire student body, but you still want to forgive me and move on?"

"Well . . . you made yourself look worse than you did me," Duke had to smirk in reply. But he quickly sobered. "And yeah, Tristan, I do. With us, we never know what's going to happen next or who's going to get hurt. Life's too short to spend it being mad at each other. Maybe that sounds kind of cheesy, but it's true."

"It sure is," Tristan said. "So . . . I'm sorry too. Friends?" He held out his hand.

"Friends," Duke said firmly, and took it.

Gansley looked pleased. "It would seem you didn't really need me after all."

"It was good to have you on hand anyway," Tristan said. "Thanks."

Gansley nodded.

"Let's call Serenity and tell her we've patched things up," Duke said, taking out his phone.

"And just in time too," Tristan remembered. "Bakura's Halloween party is tomorrow night."

"It'll be great to go and not have a lot of tension this time!" Crump exclaimed, finally alerting the boys to their presence.

". . . Wait. How long have you guys been there?" Duke frowned.

". . . Pretty much the whole time, I'm afraid," Lector admitted. "We didn't set out to eavesdrop, but we were coming down just as you were getting started, and . . . well, we wanted to see if you would really be able to make amends." He smiled. "I for one am proud of you both."

Tristan smiled a bit as well. "Thanks."

Duke smiled too. "Yeah."

Serenity was overjoyed to hear their news, as was Joey and everyone else. Gansley got off the couch to follow the others into the kitchen, but they could all hear Joey's enthusiastic "Yes!" through the phone, and Téa's "It's about time!"

"So, everything ends good," Crump said as he opened the fridge to search through it for food.

"And we can get back to Penguin World," Johnson said.

Gansley nodded. "In a few weeks we should have the first of the penguins with us."

"I hope we're ready for this," Nesbitt voiced in concern.

"It'll be fine," Crump insisted. "I'll teach ya everything you need to know about dealing with penguins! And . . . I'll probably learn some new stuff myself."

"Are we going to be dealing with them personally?" Nesbitt quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, mostly it'll be people we hire to take care of them," Crump said, "and me. But the rest of you'll have to know how to handle them too, just in case you ever need to."

"And we probably will, in a venture like this," Gansley mused.

Nesbitt still looked worried. "I'm still trying to figure out how to associate with people," he objected. "I know nothing about animals."

"Same stuff, really," Crump said. "Respect, trust, kindness, caring, patience. . . ."

"All of which I'm short on," Nesbitt grunted.

"You're better than you think you are," Lector said. "We'll probably all make some mistakes, but we'll figure it out." His eyes flickered. He had some doubts too. He imagined taking care of animals was a lot like taking care of children, something for which he didn't have a good track record.

"Are you okay, Buddy?" Crump asked.

Lector paused. He could just say he was, but. . . . "I'm just worrying whether I'll do well with this myself," he said. "You know most of the children I've dealt with didn't turn out well, so I'm not arrogant enough to think I can handle penguins any better."

"I know you can," Crump said. "It wasn't your fault most of the kids were brats."

"And what if some of the penguins behave similarly?" Lector said.

"Then . . . hopefully you won't havta deal with those penguins too much," Crump said. "Not 'cause I'm worried about the penguins, but because you deserve to have respect and trust. You're a good guy."

Lector smiled a bit, but soon sobered again. "I also hope I really won't go around as the Purple Avenger any more."

"If you do, we'll figure that out too," Gansley said.

"I'm sure that's over with," Crump insisted. He set about making pancakes. "Hey, did you guys know that blue penguins are a thing?"

Four blank stares.

"No, actually," Lector said.

"They're not dyed?" Nesbitt said.

"Nope! Natural!" Crump grinned. He was happy to finally be able to really share his love of penguins with his friends, and happy that they had all been willing to go into this project with him. He knew it was going to be amazing.

"Are we going to be taking care of any blue penguins?" Gansley wondered.

"Who knows!" Crump said. "It's always possible!"

Lector smiled a bit. Crump would probably be sharing more and more penguin facts as they drew closer to the opening and the arrival of the penguins. He didn't mind. And although he was still nervous, he was also happy for this opportunity to go into business with his dear friends. They were embarking on a new chapter in their lives. And since they were together, that gave him more confidence that it would work.

He idly wondered what their counterparts were doing in their world today. He was sure it was a grand day of joyously reuniting and happiness that they were all alive and together after so much heartache. He wished them well. It was a wonderful feeling to know that they had all been able to help the other Big Five find each other again.

"I wonder if we're going to be associating with that other world again," Johnson said.

"Probably," Crump said. "We wanna check on them and make sure they're still doin' okay, right?"

"We do," Lector agreed.

"But we should be careful," Nesbitt pointed out. "We don't know how stable that portal is or how long it's going to stay open."

"Which means that if we go over, we should probably take the candle holder with us to manually open a portal to get back if the other one closes," Gansley said.

"Good idea," Crump said. "The last thing we wanna do is get stuck in another dimension!"

"Or worse—for only some of us to get stuck while the others get through," Johnson shuddered.

"Don't even think about that!" Crump exclaimed. "We're gonna be together. It'll be okay."

"Yes," Lector mused, "we will."

And he believed that.


End file.
